The Story of Himawari Uzumaki and Shikadai Nara
by Reincarnations
Summary: This is the story of a girl and her brother's best friend and how they ended up at each other's side as future Kage.
1. Chapter 1

**_New story that is stuck in my head. This is kind of a love story between Himawari and Shikadai, but you learn some interesting information about Hinata._**

 ** _If I get any information about the characters wrong please tell me and I will fix it. They also might be a little OOC since I haven't finished all the Naruto Shippuden episodes or read all of the chapters in the manga. I basically skipped to the end and was happy to find out Naruto and Hinata had children!_**

 ** _*Don't read if you want to hear a rant* I'm a little irritated at my English teacher. We were supposed to do an essay and he told me mine was the best out of all the others yet he gave me a lower grade than the other students! *Sorry, had to tell someone.*_**

 ** _Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

Over two years passed since the incident at the Chunin Exams. Everyone had calmed down and the buildings were rebuilt better than they were before. The exams were rescheduled three months after the event. Anyone who participated and failed could take the rescheduled test and pass.

One of these lucky applicants, who passed and is now fifteen, was Boruto Uzumaki, the son of Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki. In the time that passed he grew a couple inches with his hair becoming even more shaggier. His clothing stayed the same except for the increase in size.

As of now he was sitting at the dining table for breakfast with his little sister, Himawari, waiting for their mother to serve their plates and for their father to get off the phone with his friend.

Himawari, now fourteen, grew enough to stay a head shorter than her brother. Her hair was significantly longer now for it now reached her waist. Unlike her brother, her clothing was completely different. Instead of the yellow long sleeved shirt and red shorts, she now wore a light purple sweetheart neckline blouse and black shorts with no front pockets. Every now and then people would come up to her just to tell her she looks exactly like her mother.

By the time Hinata put the plates in the designated spots, Naruto finished his phone call.

"That was Gaara," he explained sitting at his spot beside Himawari, "He wants the three remaining jinchurikis to get together for some reason."

"He didn't say why?"

"He said it was too important to speak about over the phone. But he did say I could bring a guest."

"Can I go with you?" Himawari asked sweetly taking a bite out of her pancakes. "I want to see Gaara again. I really like how he can manipulate sand to do anything he wants."

"You need to practice for your graduation exam," he slightly scolded. "You've been held back in the academy for over a year now and you failed the test eight times-"

"It's because they give me the regular test not the one for taijutsu." She stabbed her food angrily before shoving it in her mouth.

"Did you tell the teacher that you wanted to take the other test?" Hinata questioned softly, handing her a napkin to wipe the syrup off her lips.

"Yes every time, but he doesn't care; he ignores me! He gives me the normal one anyways."

"I'll talk to the teacher about it." Naruto promised. "If you do go with me, you will train there no matter what. Understood?"

Himawari nodded excitedly while Boruto said, "I'll keep Mom company then. I told Shikadai and Inojin I would train with them tomorrow anyways."

"Alright, then we will see you two tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

The next morning Hinata and Boruto was at the village gates waiting Himawari and Naruto off. Before the father-daughter duo left, someone called Himawari's name. A smile emerged on her face once the person was in front of her. "Hello Shikadai."

It was in fact Temari and Shikamaru's son, Shikdai. He grew the same amount as Boruto, meaning he's a head taller than Himawari. His hair grew a couple inches and was still in its usual ponytail. Every so often, when he comes over to the Uzumaki's house to train, he lets it down claiming it gives him a headache but never once agreed with the thought of cutting it.

"I need you to do me a favor," he requested.

"Which is?"

"Boruto mentioned something about you going with your dad to meet the other jinchuriki," Shikadai explained. "I was wondering if you would ask Uncle Gaara and, if see him, Uncle Kankuro if they would come to family day tomorrow. I can tell Mom's been feeling a little homesick for Suna, so I thought seeing her brothers might cheer her up."

"Sure, I'll ask but-"

"You can borrow Boruto's phone to tell me the answer or complications," he answered the unasked question, with a look to his friend, "If he will let you."

With a disgruntled sigh, Boruto forked over his phone. "Don't break it Hima."

Sticking her tongue out, she placed it carefully in her pocket. "I'll be sure to tell you-"

"Himawari," Naruto hissed, lightly tugging her hand while trying not to be rude. "We're going to be late." Having Kakashi for a sensei made it important to be on time.

She peered over her shoulder disappointingly, but it immediately disappeared when Shikadai kissed her cheek. "I'll see you soon."

The younger girl blushed, being guided away from her father, and called out, "Bye, Shika!"

* * *

The meeting place was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees with a big flowing river. There was an abandoned house that had a caved in roof so none of them could go in.

"Who is this?" A questioned noticing the young teenage girl.

"You haven't met her yet, have you?" Naruto rubbed the girl's head affectionately. "This is my daughter, Himawari. Himawari this is A, the Fourth Raikage and the younger man beside him is his brother, the Eight Tailed jinchuriki, Killer B. And you already know-"

"Gaara!" She screamed happily, running to the Kazekage. It took him a moment to balance himself after she hugged him. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too." She let go of him and he asked, "Have you passed the graduation exam yet?"

"The teacher refuses to give her the alternate exam for taijutsu," Naruto answered for her. "He claims that since she is my daughter she should be able to do the same things as me."

"That's like giving Boruto that test because he's Hinata's son," Killer B reasoned. "He can't use the Byakugan but she can."

"He's trying to learn though," Himawari responded casually.

For some reason that alarmed Naruto. "What do you-"

"Before I forget, I have to ask you something, Gaara," she turned to him completely ignoring her father for the moment. "Shikadai was wondering if you and Kankuro will go to family day tomorrow to cheer up Temari. He says she's feeling homesick."

"What time would we have to be there?"

She pulled out her brother's phone and started texting away.

* * *

 _Beep, beep!_

Shikamaru reached a hand into his pocket, balancing the bag of deer corn in his opposite arm. He and his parents were in the Nara Clan Forest feeding the animals like they usually do on Saturdays.

"Who's that?" Temari questioned with her back turned toward him a few feet away, petting a moma deer.

"Boruto," he lied swiftly. "He's wondering what time we're going to meet for family day tomorrow."

"Probably around noonish."

The son relayed the answer and put it back in his pocket going back to his original task.

* * *

"Around noon." Himawari looked up with pleading eyes. "Can you go?"

Gaara pondered for a few moments making A a little aggravated. They were supposed to meet up to talk about important business, not about going to a family event. "Give me a minute." He dialed a number on his phone and walked a couple steps away.

Himawari texted a response once she heard him start talking.

* * *

 _Beep, beep!_

Shikadai slowly moved away from his mother to his father's other side and brought his phone out.

 _Hima: Elders are worried he'll get behind on papers and never catch up._

Luckily he already had a plan for that situation.

* * *

"He's offering to help with the papers," Himawari interpreted, skimming through the message. "Temari can come with and visit her old friends and see her old home again."

Gaara moved the phone away from his mouth. "But will she approve of him helping?"

"I'm sure she won't mind helping out if she needs to."

He spoke for a couple more minutes before hanging up, satisfied. "They've agreed. We can visit and stay until Monday."

* * *

Shikadai let a smile appear on his face before it went back to its usual expression so his parents couldn't see it.

"Boruto again?" Shikamaru guessed getting a little annoyed while talking off his shoes before entering their home.

"He's trying to tell me where the Hyuga Compound is." Shikadai provided following his father's example. "He's not very good at giving directions."

"Why is he telling you that?"

"He and his mom are visiting his grandpa for the day. He wants me and Inojin to meet him there for training."

"We could have just told you." Temari let her hair down and threw the ties on the coffee table in the living room. "It would have been easier."

"Didn't want to bother you," was the blunt reply as he sat in the lounge chair and continued to text 'Boruto'.

* * *

"So what did you need to talk about?" Naruto questioned. The four adults were sitting on old tree stumps while the child infused chakra on her feet to walk on the river. On the body of water she was practicing her taijutsu. She reminded Naruto of a younger version of Hinata when she would train. He wondered how Himawari could fail the test so many times but was able to do things kids her age couldn't do yet.

"Something I know you will get riled up about." Gaara started out. "The-"

"Gaara!" Himawari accidentally interrupted him. "Can you please make a sand clone of me?"

A second later there was an identical version of her appeared a couple feet in front of her. "Thank you!" She shouted as she began to spar against herself.

The Kazekage waited a couple minutes before asking his old friend, "Why did you bring her here?"

Taken back, Naruto said, "You said I could bring a guest and she wanted to come with me. She wanted to see you."

"But you've put her in danger," he insisted.

"How? She's perfectly safe with me."

Himawari killed the clone right as Gaara whispered harshly, "Because the members of the Akatsuki are alive!"

* * *

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be longer?_**

 ** _Tell me what you think, I'd love to know._**

 ** _Thank you for reading; please review!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Updating a couple days early because it is a holiday. I'm falling behind on my chapters so expect the story to not be updated one Friday, this coming one isn't it._**

 ** _Anyways, hope you enjoy it!_**

 ** _Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto_**

* * *

Three good friends were sitting on the ground outside in the Hyuga Compound courtyard, taking a break from their training while Hinata and her father Hiashi were sitting at the table put there for them.

After a moments rest, Boruto stood up and stretched. "All right! Back to training!"

"Why are you trying so hard?" Inojin suddenly asked when his friend got into position. "You're trying to learn the Gentle Fist technique, but you don't even have the Byakugan. So why-"

"I'm doing it for two reasons." The teenager in question said while hitting the tree wrapped in same material used to make punching bags. "One, to help Himawari with her training and two, to do the impossible like my mother did."

"The impossible?"

Boruto had his leg in the air, ready to kick the tree when he realized what he said and faltered, missing the tree and falling on his butt. He moved around so he could look at his mother. "I'm so sorry, Mom! I didn't mean to-it just slipped out."

Hinata surprised her son when she smiled and shook her head, "It's alright. I was going to tell everyone tomorrow, but," she turned to his friends, "I can practice what I'm going to say with you two."

The two teenagers were confused, but only Shikadai voiced it, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is on the day I was born, I was adopted into the Hyuga family."

"But you have the Byakugan." Inojin argued. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have been taken in."

"That's because the elders didn't like the thought of me adopting a child that didn't have the Hyuga eyes." Hiashi explained casually sipping his tea though he was trying to mask the anger he was feeling. "So the next day, her eyes were operated on."

"When did this happen?"

"Her birthday," Boruto answered sounding like it was obvious. "December 27th, two days after the Rinne Festival. Grandpa, can you tell that story again, so they can hear it?"

Hiashi nodded in agreement. After he took one last drink from his tea before he began, "I remember it was snowing hard and fairly quickly. The elders were arguing with me about needing an heir once again. When I was going to end the conversation, there was a pounding knock on the door. I answered it expecting an angry man, but instead there was a crying baby girl with dark blue hair wrapped in a blanket too big for her. Once I picked her up, she stopped crying immediately and opened her eyes. They were the lightest blue I've ever seen. I had to argue with the elders to not operate on them, but if I were to keep her, they had to be changed."

"And that is one of the reasons why Neji didn't like the Main Branch," Hinata provided. "Because they adopted someone who was to be their future heir."

"Who was it?" Inojin asked Hinata. "Who left you at the compound?"

She answered unwillingly, "My biological father-"

"I mean who is he? What's his name?"

Sighing, Hinata explained reluctantly. "At the time, his name was Yahiko, one of Lord Jiraya's students. He changed his appearance and became known as Pain, one of the three leaders of the Akatsuki."

"But that doesn't matter," Hiashi insisted. "Like I have said a thousand times before, you are _my_ daughter, not his!"

Silence followed after that moment. Thinking that no one was watching him, Shikadai started texting someone in secret.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Jinchuriki meeting, the three adults were trying to logically think about the problem at hand. From a distance Himawari was wondering the four were suddenly quiet. She wanted to tell Gaara that the clone was gone, but what ever they were discussing was more important than her. She can wait a few minutes before asking him. In all honesty, she was getting tired of training.

The silence was broken when something started beeping. Himawari, recognizing the sound, quickly pulled out her brother's phone and set it on vibrate before opening the text. Her face became pale once she read the message.

 _Shika: Your mother is the daughter of the Akatsuki leader?_

She looked up at her father, who was still a little dazed, before typing a reply. A couple minutes passed when the device vibrated.

 _Shika: She just told us about her being adopted._

 _So you're going to stop talking to us?_ Himawari wiped away a tear that dripped down her cheek when she sent the reply. Ten seconds hadn't passed when she got another message.

 _Shika: I'll stop talking to you when I'm dead and buried six feet underground._

Her face warmed up at that answer. Boruto is the only one that knows she has a crush on the Nara. He claims Shikadai has a thing for her, but she doesn't believe him.

She moved off the river to the bank, deeming that she has been training long enough, and continued texting the older boy.

A suddenly stood and began pacing around before asking, "So what are we going to do? Are we going to hunt them down, have people to do it, or what?"

"We lay low," Gaara answered. "Once I'm back in Suna, we will wait until they make a move."

Naruto finally snapped out of his trance and wondered, "How do we even know its them? It could be some kind of impostor-"

"I think I would know if my cousin tried to kill me in my sleep," he barked haughtily.

Killer B finally said, "Who's your cousin?"

"Sasori of the Red Sand," Gaara offered, regaining his composure. "We had the same grandmother."

Naruto's eyes widened at the sudden revelation. "Granny Chiyo was your grandmother?"

"Which means she gave her life to save her grandson."

"But-"

"Dad!" Himawari called from the riverbank. She was now sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. "Mom wants to know when we're leaving so she knows when to start supper."

"You can leave now." Gaara shouted back. Standing from his seat, he spoke in normal volume, "There's nothing left to discuss."

"But Gaara-"

"No, Naruto," he urged. He lowered his voice to a whisper to say, "They've been watching us ever since I mentioned they were alive."

* * *

"So how did it go?" Hinata asked kindly while she washes the dishes. The Uzumaki family had finished eating with Inojin and Shikadai joining them. The teens were currently outside helping Himawari with her taijutsu. But from the kitchen it looked like the boys were running away from her in fear that they might get hurt.

Naruto held her from behind, laying his cheek on top of her head. Her hair has grown a little longer but not by much. It has only grown past her shoulder which irritated Boruto because he loved his mother's hair. "I was told something important."

"Which is. . .?"

He lowered his voice while hiding his face in her hair. "The Akatsuki have returned."

The plates in her hand fell and clattered in the sink. "Does Himawari know?"

"No, Gaara made sure she couldn't hear us. But-"

"Don't tell me, is it something bad?"

"I've put her in danger." He moved his head so his chin was resting on her shoulder. "The Akatsuki were watching us. They know she is my daughter."

"She'll be fine." Hinata dried her hands, then turned so she was facing her husband, not breaking the hold. "Like you said, she's your daughter and Boruto's little sister. You know how protective he is of her."

"Which reminds me," he leaned his forehead to meet hers, "I convinced Himawari's teacher to let her retake the test on Monday. If she passes, she's a Genin. If not then she has to wait until next school year to take it again."

"Do you think she'll pass?"

Naruto smiled and kissed her nose. "She's _our_ daughter. If we can pass, she can too."

* * *

That night Himawari was in her bedroom brushing her long hair, so it wouldn't be a tangled up mess when her brother knocked on her bedroom door before coming in.

"So what happened?" Boruto asked while sitting on the edge of her perfectly made bed.

"I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they stopped talking for a few minutes. When I looked at them, Dad looked like he wanted to go on a rampage."

"That's not what I meant but I'll ask Dad about that."

"Then what-?"

He stood up and closed her door, whispering, "I mean between you and Shikadai." He sat back down on the bed before he continued, "While you were with Dad and we were at Gramp's, Shikadai started texting someone, who I assumed was you. After the second time, he got a text and he looked pissed when he sent one back. I asked him what his deal was. He just glanced at me before looking back at his phone."

"How do you know it was me? It could have been-"

"Someone else?" Boruto finished. "Maybe, but when you gave me my phone back, I was going to ask Sarada something, but then I noticed you didn't delete your messages."

Himawari stayed silent and kept her back toward her brother. He continued anyways, "So are you sure he doesn't have a thing for you? Because ' _I'll stop talking to you when I'm dead and buried six feet underground_ ' sounds like something someone would say to someone they have feelings for-"

"Boruto!" Himawari exclaimed turning around to look at him. "He doesn't like me! If he did, he would of-"

"He told me a few weeks ago when you fainted during training at school. You were rushed to the hospital-'

"I remember," she snapped, not meaning to be rude. She just doesn't _want_ to remember. In class that day the students were sparing against each other for practice. One moment Himawari was winning and in the next, she was in a coughing fit with her heart beating faster than it should have. Once blood came out of her mouth, she fainted. While she was sleeping, the doctors thought she had a heart problem, meaning she could die from training too hard or too long. She had to stay a couple more days to have some tests run on her, but none of the test concluded their hypothesis. "When I woke up the next day, you were by my bed."

"And?"

"And what?"

Boruto sighed, not liking that he had to explain something so simple. "The first day, he came by to see how you were doing since news spread about what happened. He got you a bouquet-"

"The sunflowers? You said you bought them for me."

"Yeah, I lied. He asked me to say they came from me instead of him."

"Why would he want to lie about-"

"Because he like you! Every day when you were in there he would give me the flowers to give to you."

"His day taught him to be nice to-"

"Why can't you see he likes you?" He shouted at her.

"Because he doesn't!" She yelled back. "He hasn't showed any signs that he likes me, so why should I believe he likes me?"

"Because he said he would rather die than not see you happy. He said he would do anything to make you happy. He said he loved your smile. He said he would do everything in his power to protect you!"

Himawari collapsed on the bed, her face hiding in her brother's shoulder. "Why is this so complicated?"

Boruto placed his hand on her head. "It's because neither one of you wants to admit you have feelings for the other."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Wait? This will be better tomorrow."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

 ** _How's this one?_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Please tell me and review!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading!_**

 ** _Happy Thanksgiving!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_You better be happy! I was going to wait until next week on Friday to publish this chapter but I decided to do it today. If I get behind on my chapters it is your fault!_**

 ** _Happy Thanksgiving!_**

 ** _Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _This chapter and story now has BorutoXSarada._**

* * *

The next day was indeed family day. Each of the Konoha 11's family, and their senseis, were told to be at the Nara Forest 11:30 a.m. at the latest. There was one family that didn't arrive until passed noon and that happened to be the Uzumaki family.

"You're late!" Sakura exclaimed with a hand on her hip. She has gotten used to saying that because of Kakashi. "Kakashi even got here before you. What took so long?"

"We went to see Uncle Neji," Boruto answered as his sister jumped off his back. She had fallen asleep at the graveyard so Boruto carried her the rest of the way. She woke up when they got passed the forest edge.

"Then Great-Grandpa Jiraya," Himawari added with a yawn as she stretched her arms and back.

"And then Grandpa Minato and Grandma Kushina."

"We put a few flowers on Mirai's dad's and the Third Hokage's graves to be respectful."

With each name that was said, Sakura felt sympathetic and less mad as she got out of her sassy pose with a sigh. Sarada was the one to ask, "You couldn't have waited until after the event?"

Over the pass couple years, Sarada became a couple inches shorter than Boruto which forced her to look up when speaking to him. Her raven black hair grew to underneath her shoulder blades. It has become a habit of hers to not wear her headband if she's not on a mission because of Boruto; every time they finish a mission, he immediately takes it off, checks for scratches, and puts it in his bag with his weapons.

"Then they wouldn't be fresh or the better ones." Himawari argued with another yawn.

"So what did we miss?" Naruto questioned not wanting to start an argument.

"We showed up," Gaara answered while walking up to him. "We offered to let some of the kids stay at Suna for a couple days since they were complaining about only Shikadai going."

"Can we go with?" The Uzumaki siblings asked.

"Himawari," Hinata chided. "You have your test on Monday."

"We can wait until she's done." Gaara insisted not wanting to disappoint the young teenager. "I'm sure it won't take that long."

The kids seperated from their parents a few hundred feet away. Not long after they did though Naruto called them over.

"We're going to have a small sparing match," he told them. "It will be team vs team. The teams can't be the squads. You have to have someone different in your team."

Before the teenagers scrambled to switch up the teams, Boruto asked, "What about Himawari? Can she join us?"

Naruto hesitated. He placed a concerned hand on his son's shoulder. "Make sure she doesn't get hurt. If she starts breathing hard, switch out with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Here are the rules," Shikamaru shouted, making everyone assume he was the referee. "It is going to be one on one, or two on one. It can only be two on one when a member comes in to replace their teammate. They have to fight for at least one minute before the other can leave the field. The match is over when all the members of one team have fought."

That was when the kids split up. One team was Inojin, Shikadai, and Boruto. At the last minute, Boruto picked Himawari up bridal style and moved her with his team. All the other kids were on the other team, which didn't seem fair, but the three boys didn't care.

"Choose your first fighter, then we will begin." The match was Inojin versus Mitsuki, Orochimaru's son. It only took a minute for Mitsuki to need some help against Inojin's beast scrolls. Metal Lee, Rock Lee's son, stepped in to help. Once he stepped in, Inojin started struggling.

A couple minutes passed when Himawari suddenly said, "Tag me in."

"Hima-"

"He won't hurt me," she insisted with a mischievous smile, "because he can't. I'm better at taijutsu than he is."

Reluctantly, Boruto let Himawari fight. After a minute had passed Inojin all but crawled to his friends. "That," he panted clearly out of breath, "was the hardest I have ever fought!"

"Do you think she'll win?" Boruto asked, worried about his sister, as he turned his gaze away from the battlefield.

"Of course she will," Shikadai confirmed confidently. "Look, they already sent someone out to help Metal Lee."

Boruto looked back at the field to find out that Shikadai was indeed correct. They had placed Chōchō in and even she was having a hard time against Himawari's relentless attacks. Not long after Metal Lee left the field, Sarada join the fight and that was when the young Uzumaki started struggling. She felt something coming up her throat so she put some distance between her and Sarada, Chōchō having already left the fight. From there Himawari began coughing and coughing while her throat burned.

"Hima-!"

She held her hand up in a 'hold on' position, which cut her brother off. Something started climbing up her throat and the next thing she knows, she's vomiting blood.

"Himawari!" Boruto cried rushing over to his sister in concern. Sarada had beaten him to her, having being closer, and was rubbing her back trying to soothe her while using a medical jutsu. After a moment, Himawari fainted in her brother's arms.

"Alright!" Shikamaru shouted trying to make everyone calm down while Sakura took over her daughter's 'job'. "The match has been postponed for now. The kids will rest up for a few minutes while Himawari recovers. After that we will eat."

 _ ******_ Sakura finished healing her shortly afterwards. She claimed Himawari's chakra network had a over-built of chakra that needed to be released. Since the kunoichi didn't the chakra leaked into her cardiovascular and respiratory system making them go crazy and work harder than they are supposed to. She will be fine for now since she is resting but will need to figure out how to prevent the chakra built-up from happening again.

From there the teenagers sat around the enormous tree that has been there for who knows how long. Each of them were in their own separate groups talking about whatever was on their mine, except for Shikadai; he was asleep next to Himawari, who turned her body to face him in her sleep.

However, there were two teenagers that sat a few feet away from the others to where they couldn't hear their conversation. The two happened to be Boruto and Sarada.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Boruto responded, "If you'll let me lay on your lap."

Sarada sighed but complied. He laid on the ground and placed his head on her lap. "So here's the question," she began as he got comfortable, "why do you take such good care of your headband?"

"Because it's not mine," he answered offhandedly, "not originally."

"Who did it belong to?"

"My uncle Neji and before him his dad."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" When she shook her head, he explained, "If a family member dies, a younger member has a choice to take their headband. I took my uncle's, and Shikadai and Inojin took their grandparents'. We thought it would only be right to have their headbands since they died in the war. Only Dad knows about it because we requested it and he accepted."

"So when will you. . .?" She let the question trail off, not wanting to actually speak the question.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't think we ever will unless it's somehow brought up."

The conversation died down since there was nothing else to talk about that.

"Anyways, you want to get your sister together with Shikadai?" Sarada deduced, changing the subject, as she ran her fingers through Boruto's thick hair.

"Will you help me?" Boruto asked, going along with the change, placing a hand over hers.

She thought for a moment. "What's in it for me?"

"You get to see two people who are obvious in-love date." He intertwined his fingers with hers. "And if you want, we can tell about us and, to top it off, I'll take you on a little picnic date when we're in Suna."

There is something that only Himawari, Shikadai, Inojin, and Mitsuki know; Boruto and Sarada have been dating since the end of the Chunin Exams when Boruto took her on a date to celebrate their victory. This means that their parents don't know about their relationship and, honestly, they don't know how to tell them.

"So we tell them first, then hook the two up?"

Boruto nodded. "If that will get you to help me, then yes."

Sarada smiled down at him. "Deal."

After she agreed, Boruto moved his head up to seal it with a kiss. That was when their parents saw them kiss and decided to let them be for now, but Shikadai, who had woken up, had the audacity to say, "It's about time you start showing some PDA!"

The couple blushed bright pink. Sarada hid her face in Boruto's hair while sat up on his elbows to glare at his friend from underneath his bangs. "Just remember payback's a bitch."

Sarada whispered in his ear to calm him down, "At least we don't have to tell them now."

* * *

"So how is it going between you and Himawari?"

Shikadai looked at his two best friends who were waiting by the tree before they got their food. "What do you mean, Boruto?"

"He's asking why you haven't asked Himawari out on a date yet." Inojin bluntly put it. "It's obvious you two have a thing for each other that you don't want to admit."

"She doesn't like me-"

"Bullshit!" Boruto retorted angrily. "Last night we had a full conversation about your relationship with her. She was convinced you didn't like her, but now she's conflicted and confused because of what you said at the hospital."

"You told her!?"

"Would you rather have her give up on you?"

Inojin sighed, pausing the dispute between the two. "Shikadai, if you don't ask Himawari out, I will."

For some reason, that comment greatly angered the Nara. "You don't even like her!"

"It wouldn't matter anyways because she likes you and would say no." Inojin said crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his back against the tree trunk. "You're just too stupid to realize it."

"Fuck it!" Shikadai walked away from his friends and headed to the direction of the girl of his dreams.

* * *

"So how's it going between you and Shikadai?"

Himawari quickly looked at the young Uchiha, who was also waiting to get some food. "What do you mean?"

Sarada giggled in her hand at the younger girl being clueless. "Well it's obvious you two like each other! I just assumed you two were dating in secret like Boruto and I was."

Himawari looked down at the ground as she muttered, "He doesn't like me."

Sarada wasn't convince though. "Are you sure, because he's walking this way looking straight at you."

* * *

 _ ****That was not what the paragraph originally said. It sounds way better than I intended it too be. It is also a foreshadow for something a few chapters away. I'll be nice and tell you when.**_

 _ **Good? Bad? Could improve? Could be longer?**_

 ** _Please let me know._**

 ** _Thank you for reading and please review!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Next chapter! Hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

Himawari blinked in surprise and said, "Excuse me? I don't think I heard you correctly."

Shikadai chuckled slightly to hide his nervousness, but repeated himself, "I said would you go on a date with me?"

"You mean, right now?"

"Right now," he confirmed. "I'll take you on a little lunch date."

She thought about it for a moment making Sarada think she was crazy. "Can we go to Ichiraku's? It's been a while since I've been there."

Shikadai smiled, thinking about how innocent the question made her sound. "Sure."

"But," she began doubtfully, "what if someone asks where we are?"

"I'm sure Boruto and Sarada will cover for us." He looked at the Uchiha expectingly. "Right?"

"Of course!" Sarada exclaimed quietly. "Have fun on your date!"

* * *

"I heard you're retaking your graduation test tomorrow." Shikadai established. He and Himawari were at Ichiraku's and, luckily were the only ones there. "Do you think you'll pass?"

"Hopefully," she answered sipping her ramen broth, "if the teacher will let me take the taijutsu test. Ninth times the charm!"

"Who _is_ your teacher?"

"I don't remember," she admitted a little bashfully. "He said it at the beginning of the year, but I couldn't hear him. He told everyone to just call him 'Sensei'."

"Why don't you transfer out?" Shikadai suggested.

"I already thought of that." She pushed the dish a couple inches away from her so she wouldn't break it in anger. "He won't let me! His reason is he 'believes' in the 'old way' of teaching. I think he's older than Grandpa Iruka!"

"Grandpa?" Shikadai questioned almost teasingly.

Himawari smiled sheepishly, her anger fading away like it didn't exist. "Dad always spoke about how he was like a second father to him; paying for his meals and when he gave his headband to Dad when he finally did the Shadow Clone Jutsu properly. He comes by every weekend for supper. Boruto and I eventually started calling him 'Grandpa' and we just got used to it."

Shikadai smiled at the young teenage girl. "Well, I am sure you will pass your test."

"Will we go on a celebratory date in Suna?" Himawari joked, trying to kid around.

"Absolutely," he agreed with all seriousness. "But I'll keep the details a secret though."

"Sorry to interrupt," Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku's, apologized, " but what's this I'm hearing about Suna?"

"Some of Konoha 11's children are staying in Suna for a few days," Himawari answered willingly, "that includes me and Shikadai."

"I have to go because I promised Uncle Gaara I would help him with paperwork if he and Uncle Kankurō came to Konoha to visit Mom." Shikadai provided as he dug through his wallet and set the appropriate amount of money on the counter. "It's troublesome, but a promise is a promise."

Teuchi laughed when he heard the teenager use his father's 'famous' phrase. "When you two come back, be sure to stop by here for another date. Your meal will be on the house then!"

"You don't have to-"

"I insist!" He said gleefully. "Consider it my retirement gift to one of my favorite customers!"

"You're retiring?"

"I'll be turning sixty-five while you're away," the shop owner informed, checking on the noodles he was cooking. "Your meal will be the last one I serve."

"Why didn't you retire at sixty?" Shikadai asked, a bit curiously. "That's the normal age for retirement."

"I wanted to cook for my three favorite customers for a while longer."

"Three?"

"You, your brother, and your father of course!" He exclaimed. "Your father has been my longest customer since he was kid. That automatically makes him my first favorite."

"I'll be sure to tell him," Himawari promised as she got off her seat along with Shikadai. "See you later!"

"Could you wait for a couple more minutes?" Teuchi requested. "I want you to give your father a to-go cup of my ramen if you don't mind."

"Not at all!" She reassured. "But I need to stretch my legs for a bit."

"We'll be back in a sec," Shikadai promised before the two walked out of the shop.

As soon as they were outside, Himawari turned her back away from the street. "Don't look over there."

"Why?" he questioned, but obeyed anyways.

"There are some jerks from my last years class over there." Himawari informed with her arms crossed while glaring at the ground. "Every time they see me, they just _have to_ bully me."

"Let me guess, they always say something about you not passing?"

Before Himawari could answer, someone poured warm liquid, that smelled vaguely like coffee, over her head. "Well would you look at this!" A snot-nosed voice said from behind the couple. "The supposed princess got all wet!"

"She probably wasn't looking where she was going again."

"Typical. She's too busy looking at the sky, trying to find her dead uncle with her monster eyes."

Himawari turned around in anger and was going to attack them if Shikadai hadn't held her back. "Why don't you three just grow up?" He questioned.

"Does the Chunin think he's better than us because he's one rank higher than us?" The first bully retorted.

"Two ranks, actually." Shikadai corrected in a 'not trying to brag' voice. "I'm a Jounin."

"Impossible!" The second one exclaimed. "You can only become one when-"

"I'm sixteen?" Shikadai finished getting ready to win an argument. "That's true yes-but since my uncle doesn't have an heir yet, there is a high possibility I'm going to be Kazekage. The council wants me to be at a high rank just in case."

"You-"

"Hey!" Old-man Teuchi yelled coming out of the shop with a wooden spoon in hand. "What do you three think you're doing? Get away from my shop!"

The three ran away in fright and moments afterwards Teuchi handed Himawari the ramen, apologizing for the bullies' behavior. The couple left, heading to Himawari's house so she could shower and change into clean clothes.

* * *

"Boruto?"

The said-shinobi raised his head, wiping his mouth first before acknowledging, "Yes, Mom?"

"Have you seen your sister?" Hinata questioned, the worry evident. "I haven't seen her for a while now."

"Now that you're saying something," Temari began, coming into the conversation, "I haven't seen Shikadai either."

"He's with Hima," Boruto said slowly before coming up with a reasonable excuse. "She was getting cold so she wanted to get her jacket, but she didn't know her how to get out of the forest. Shikadai went with her so he can guide her out and back in."

"Why didn't you go?"

"Because everyone would assume that I left to go pull a prank and then everyone would be searching for me when I'm doing nothing wrong." Boruto explained in one breath. "They should be back in a few minutes."

"Will you tell Shikadai to stop someplace and pay for the two to eat?" Temari requested with a sigh. "It seems we've run out of food." That last sentence was addressed to Chouji and his daughter but they payed no attention.

"Yes ma'm."

* * *

"So many pictures," Shikadai muttered gazing at the walls. There was one wall dedicated to Himawari and Boruto. In the middle was one column of the two either playing, training, or just around each other from when they were younger. That split the wall into two sides; one for Himawari and the other for Boruto.

Boruto had the least amount of pictures. There was only four pictures; one of when Boruto was a baby playing with Sarada, one of when he graduated the Academy, him with the other kages after they saved Naruto, and the last him, Shikadai, and Inojin when they passed the Chunin Exams.

Himawari's side didn't really have pictures; mainly drawings her mother drew, for they had her name in the corner. There was one that stood out the most though. Himawari was sitting on her knees on a bank with her hand extended out to the water and a shadow's hands was reaching up to meet hers.

"Boruto used to tease me about that one."

Shikadai looked over his shoulder before turning to her. "Why?"

Himawari had her head tilted down as she was trying to dry her long thick hair. Her black shorts changed into a black skirt and her purple blouse into a tank-top.

"I had a dream a few months back," she began letting the towel hang around her shoulders. "I was in a forest, chasing after a shadow. I come to a clearing and it disappeared. I walk to the lake and I see him in the water. I reach down to him and he reaches up. Right when our hands are about to touch, I woke up."

"Who was he?" Shikadai questioned. "Who was the shadow?"

She sighed before answering, though she didn't want to, "It was you, but I only told Boruto. He teased me about it for over a week."

"Why though?"

"Because I had a crush on you. He thought the dream meant that the person in the river would pull me in and take me to a place where we could be together."

Shikadai shook his head in wonderment. "Why did it take me so long to ask you out?"

Himawari giggled in her hand. "At least we aren't like my parents; wait until we're nineteen to go on a date. Anyways, you ready?"

"You have to grab a jacket." Shikadai said. "Boruto told our moms we left so you could grab one."

Himawari hurried off to her room and found that she had no jacket that matched her outfit or had a big tear. She left her room and went to her parents'. Opening the closet door, she grabbed the first jacket she thought to her mother before going back to Shikadai. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Hinata stared at her daughter for a few more moments before asking, "What are you wearing?"

Suddenly, Himawari became uncomfortable by the stares of everyone though she got them all the time. She looked down at her own clothing, just noticing that the jacket was the same color as her tank-top, light purple. "Well when we went to Ichiraku's, someone poured their coffee on me so I had to shower. I wanted to wear something warm and cool so I went with this outfit. The jacket I was wearing had gotten dirty and I had nothing else so I borrowed yours. Are you mad?"

She shook her head, stepped forward, and kissed her daughter's forehead. "It's just that you looked so much like me when I was younger. I thought I was looking in a mirror."

Himawari blushed and looked down at the ground, thinking of the comment as a complement.

"Anyways," Shikamaru interrupted, "we will start our adventure through the forest. Hopefully, we don't find anything life threatening." Temari smacked him upside the head, hoping he didn't jinx the group.

Luckily, he didn't, but about after ten minutes of walking they came to a clearing with a lake just like-

"My dream," Himawari muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

The group walked into the clearing as Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows at the map in his hand. "This isn't supposed to be here."

Himawari stepped closer to the lake than the others and kneeled before it. Placing her hand in the water, she retracted it after a moment. "It's not wet."

Five of the adults look at each other.

"Could it be?" Sakura questioned.

"No," Sai replied affirmatively. "He promised it would never come close."

"But I did ask him to come visit," Hinata added. "So maybe he did."

"But it's not possible," Shikamaru argued.

Naruto walked over to his daughter and peered into the lake. "Hey," he looked back with a stricken look, "the river has a yellow-green glow."

It was decided that they would enter in the lake.

The males who knows what was going on went in first and the others followed with the two females coming at the end. They had a little difficulty trying to get Guy-sensei in with his wheel-chair, but they got it eventually.

In the lake there was no water. On the bottom was indeed rock, but floating around was yellow-green orbs.

Hinata gasped, her hand unknowingly going to cover her mouth. She turned to her husband, the hand moving to her heart. "This is...!" She couldn't put it to words but the orbs answered for her.

The orbs changed into images and videos that mostly had Hinata and Naruto. They were obviously younger, maybe about twenty. It showed them, all in the same clothing so it gave the idea they were on a mission, chatting while they were in a deserted town. There were a couple orbs from that town; Hinata applying ointment on Naruto's back and the other was Naruto staring at her while she was looking out at the distance.

There was one orb that showed Naruto watching Hinata knitting a scarf. He came toward her and the two started speaking, though no one could hear them. The orb-Naruto said something that made orb-Hinata stand up in surprise and said something. He repeated himself but she looked disappointed and said something else. Suddenly all of the orbs changed to that scene and the volume level increased.

 _"I said," Naruto looked up to meet her gaze, "I love you, Hinata."_

* * *

 ** _Done! One of the longest chapter._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be longer?_**

 ** _Please review!_**

 ** _Thank you for reading._**


	5. Chapter 5

**_First I would like to apologize._**

 ** _This chapter and the next will be short, like 500-1000 words._**

 ** _I bought five books from the Book Fair and I plan on reading them all in the next two weeks._**

 ** _Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

"So this is the place where you fell in love?"

"Sort of." Hinata agreed. "This place can show you any memories you want. Even those." She pointed to a group of orbs that were playing something.

 _A man dressed in a black coat with red clouds was jumping from roof to roof carrying a baby in a bundle of blankets while it was snowing. Finally finding a place that satisfied him, he kissed the little girl's forehead. He went to the house and pounded on the door before laying the baby down and leaping away. The door slid open to reveal a man, Hiashi Hyuga. He saw the baby girl crying and picked her up. She stopped crying and opened her eyes. They were bright light blue._

That orb disappeared and another took its place.

 _Hiashi was talking to a young woman when a little girl, probably a little older than three, came running to him. "Daddy!" The little girl happily yelled._

 _He physically cheered up and picked her up, sitting her on his waist._

 _"Who is this?" The young woman asked._

 _"My daughter, Hinata."_

 _"I didn't know you had a wife."_

 _". . . I never did."_

That orb vanished and came other.

 _Hinata, about sixteen, was sitting on the floor with her back against the walls, tears threatening to spill. In the Hokage's office, she and her dad were having a yelling match._

 _The rest of the Konoha 11 were walking down the hall to her, evidently they had a meeting with the Hokage._

 _"Lady Hinata?" Neji moved to the front of the group to see his cousin. "What's the matter?"_

 _She glanced up at him before Lady Tsunade was heard yelling, "She is not your daughter!"_

 _Something inside Hinata broke. She bowed her head as she began to sob uncontrollably. Neji silently sat next to her and she moved her head to cry on his shoulder. While all the others were confused, Naruto grew mad._

 _Hiashi stepped out, clearly pissed, slamming the door as hard as he could. Noticing the group and his nephew comforting his daughter, he said, "Let's go Hinata."_

 _She stayed where she was so he kneeled to her. "Listen to me. I raised you, fed you, and loved you. That makes you my daughter!"_

The scene changed.

 _Hinata was standing in a rock like room, surrounded by Akatsuki members, with a look of determination. "I came for only one reason," she began confidently, "and that is so you, Deva Pain, can write my recommendation for becoming a Jounin."_

 _"Why doesn't Hiashi-"_

 _"He did!" Hinata exclaimed losing her temper for once. "But Lady Tsunade won't accept it because he's not my birth father. I deserve to be a Jounin! After this encounter I want nothing to do with you or her. I want none of my friends to know I had anything to do with you. You can choose to do it or not, but either way I am done with you."_

The scene changed one last time.

 _Hinata knocked on the Hokage's door and she came in and threw the scroll on the table. "Happy? I got what you wanted."_

That orb disappeared and everyone was silent.

"There's the secret," the real Hinata announced. "My biological parents were the two leaders of the Akatsuki."

* * *

 ** _End! I again apologize for it being short but I want to finish those books._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please review!  
_**

 ** _Thank you for reading!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Once again I apologize for the chapter being between 500-1000 words._**

 ** _But I finished the books!_**

 ** _Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

Himawari glared at her Academy teacher. She was taking the graduation exam, sadly not the taijutsu exam, but it was the regular one. She had manage to use the transformation jutsu properly and the substitution jutsu just as well. The last part was the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but her teacher wanted her to manifest five clones instead of the usual three.

"Why so many?" She questioned with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It is only two extras." Sensei retorted quite rudely, making the young students watching snicker. "If can't do that, then you shouldn't be a shinobi."

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is meant to trick the enemy so you can take the opportunity to attack from the back," Himawari argued as she moved her position to where her hand was on her hip. "You only need one clone to do that and most shinobi doesn't even use it."

"It seems you've forgotten that was your father's best jutsu."

Himawari narrowed her eyes as she realized something. "You failed me because I'm the Hokage's daughter. That's why you won't let me take the taijutsu test!"

"That's not true."

"Oh?" Another thought came to mind that was even more horrible but possible. "It's because my dad's the Nine Tail's jinchūriki! What? Did the fox spirit kill someone you love and yet you blame my dad even though he was only a baby at the time? You think for revenge you need to hold back his daughter for as long as you can and ruin her life?"

"Enough!" Sensei yelled. "Perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu or else you will fail!"

"I have a better idea." Himawari deduced. "I quit!" She turned her back on him and stormed over to the classroom door. Opening it, she paused, not looking back. "Just remember that I will become the Ninth Hokage!"

"And who will become the Eighth then?"

"Sarada Uchiha!" She stepped out and slammed it shut behind her.

* * *

She arrived at the gate with her bag where everyone that was going with was. She was surprised when her mother was among them. "Mom? You're going?"

Hinata nodded as she adjusted her shoulder straps. "They wanted another adult to be there with you besides Temari, so it was decided that I was best for the position."

"Yes!" Himawari exclaimed cheerfully. "Something good is finally happening to me!"

"What do you mean?" Boruto questioned as he took both his sister's and mother's bags and carried them himself. "How did your test go? Did you pass?"

"No," she answered sadly. "The sensei wanted me to make more clones than was required. That's when I found out he failed me so many times because the Nine Tails killed someone he loved and he wanted revenge."

"So did you-"

"Nope!" She began walking toward the front of the group. "I told him I quit."

"Hima-"

"Don't worry," Himawari locked her eyes on Sarada's with a michevious smirk on her face that could have competed with her brother's, "you still have to keep your promise to me."

She ran to the front and turned so she was facing the group, her hands behind her back as she's leaning forward. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

 ** _You must be getting tired of this, but I do apologize for the short chapter._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please review!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_I apologize for this being late._**

 ** _I kind of got bored of this and started something else. I do that all the time, switch from one story to another. I promise you I will try to keep with this story. I couldn't work on it for a couple days because my laptop broke on me but luckily I got a new one for Christmas! It's a touch screen that can change from a laptop to a tablet!_**

 ** _Anyways-_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

Thanks to the improvements of transportation and traveling routes, they made it to Suna in a little over three hours instead of three days. The teenagers that haven't been there before was amazed by it. Every building was created by sand! And they were all the same size, unlike Konoha, with the whole village being surrounded by a gigantic solid sand wall. It was basically a town hidden in a canyon-like structure.

Himawari thought Suna was absolutely beautiful. Just by walking through the few streets and being greeted by friendly villagers every couple minutes, Himawari decided that she would rather live here than Konoha. The people were far kinder to strangers unlike the people at her home town. Sadly, she couldn't fully enjoy and appreciate the village because of something that had been on her mind since they left Konoha.

Eventually they made it to the Kazekage's Mansion to which the teenagers were paired together to share a room, with the exception of Shikadai who had his own room due to him having to visit for future Kazekage meetings. All the teenagers, but Himawari, had finished unpacking and decided to go out for lunch. Boruto and Sarada would get their own table while Mitsuki, Inojin, and Chōchō would sit a few tables away. Shikadai wasn't going because the Sand Elders wanted a meeting with him about future Kazekage business.

After the five left, Shikadai used it as an opportunity to talk to Himawari alone. So there he was, leaned against the doorway watching Himawari organize her brother's stuff on his side of the room with looks of confusion and uncertainty. "Alright." She jumped at his voice and looked up at Shikadai before he continued, "What's wrong?"

Himawari sighed and sat on Boruto's bed as Shikadai shut the door and stood in front of her. She gazed up at him almost shyly when she asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were a Jounin?"

Shikadai knelt before her, already knowing he would have to tell eventually. "The elders wanted to keep it a secret. Only my parents, my uncles, and the Hokage know that I'm a Konoha Jounin. But. . ." He trailed off not wanting to tell her the 'bad news'.

Luckily, Himawari had a sneaky suspicion on what he was going to say. "You're a Suna Jounin too, aren't you? That's why you'd always disappear for a couple days with no reason and I'm guessing they didn't put you on a team here because you were already "

He nodded sadly, bowing his head as he lost the courage to look at her straight in the eyes. This lasted only a minute or two because Himawari sighed in an attempt to release some of the built up tension. "I guess, since you told me your dark secret," she initiated warily, "I'll you mine."

"You? The Byakugan Princess has a dark secret?"

She committed a playfull glare at the mention of her 'nickname', but it was soon replaced with a serious visage. "There is a reason why I always fail my graduation exam." Himawari elucidated while she fretted about what Shikadai might say. "It involves the-"

She never finished for she was kindly interrupted by a light knock on the guest bedroom door. "Himawari?" Her mother's gentle voice requested on the other side. "Would you like to help me cook lunch while the four are at the meeting?"

"Yeah, Mom!" Himawari complied, keeping her eyes on her boyfriend, who was now standing by the door, ready to leave at a moments notice so they wouldn't get caught together. "I'll be there in a minute."

* * *

At the meeting down the street from the mansion in the Kazekage's Office, Shikadai wondered if he heard the Suna Council correctly. "You want me to what?"

"Be inducted as the new Kazekage during your visit," Sajō, a man around the age of sixty-seven, bravely concluded. "Your uncle's time is up-"

"Shikadai is only fifteen though!" Temari disagreed. Ever since the very first mention of making her son the heir, she has been completely against it but she was outruled. "You agreed to wait until he was sixteen to-"

"There is a re-awakened threat, Temari," Baki, her old sensei, argued forcefully. "We need to be ready-"

"Re-awakened?" Shikadai repeated as he changed his position to where his arms were crossed over his chest in an annoyed and lazy fashion. "You mean the Akatsuki? I heard stories about them all the time when I was a kid and I was told they were dead."

"Yes." A very elderly man, who was referred to as Lady Chiyo's younger brother, agreed solemly. "But I am afraid they have been resurrected, even my sister's grandson. . ."

"So you want to surprise them with a new Kazekage?" With the collection of nods taking place around the room, Shikadai shook his head in disgust.

"Fine," he spat through gritted teeth, not liking the idea of kage so soon. "I have a few conditions though since I'm being forced into this."

No one spoke for a few minutes, weighing what the child could have in mind. After all, he is the son of two intelligent strategist. Then finally-

"It wouldn't hurt to hear what you want."

Shikadai smirked inwardly, knowing that he, though he would have to argue, would win the case. "There are two of my conditions that involves the ceremony. Obviously I want my dad to attend and I want Uncle Gaara to induct me."

"Approved," Ebizō allowed. No one dared to challenge his desicion because of his status as the Head of the Suna Council. "Continue."

"I want to be able to visit my parents in Konoha." Shikadai moved out of his 'pose' so he could explain himself before the Council deny him. "I'm technically still a kid that needs his parents around. If I could I be with them for so many days during the week now, and then decrease it as I come older, then I would be fine with becoming Kazekage."

Gōza questioned him first before the other council members could start debating, "How many days are you thinking, starting off?"

"Three."

"Well, that's too many!" Gōza exclaimed as he leaned back in his chair. "You are on the verge of being an adult. You don't need to be babied by your parents-"

"Are you too old to remember I was born and raised in Konoha?" Shikadai insulted the senior. "I have friends that I'd miss if I never got to see them. You are all forgetting one fact that my mom hasn't: I'm still a kids that needs his parent and his friends."

A slightly hesitant knock on the door stopped the conversation. Gaara spoke for the first time that meeting, "You may come in, Himawari."

The young teenage girl peeked her head through the door before entering. Most of the council members started muttering to each other as she walked nervously over to Temari.

"That girl, she must be that Hyuga's daughter."

"The ex heir? She actually found someone that liked her?"

"Did you hear the rumors though?"

"What rumors?"

"She was adopted into the Hyuga family!"

"Of course! There is no way someone as week as her could truly be a Hyuga! This girl, her daughter, might be the same."

With each comment being made, Himawari bowed her head lower and lower, trying not to let what they were saying become injected into her mind. Shikadai noticed this and was about to yell at the council for being pig-headed idiots when his mother spoke first. "What do you need, Himawari?"

"We finished lunch early," she said in a quiet voice, her eyes staring holes into the floor. "She wanted me to ask if you and Shikadai would be joining us soon. And if we need to bring Gaara and Kankuro theirs." It didn't take a genius to notice that her voice brightened when she said the two men's name.

"Child!" Gōza shouted, effectively getting Himawari's attention. "We are in the middle of an important meeting. You can't just walk in to discuss a trivial-"

"Her name is Himawari." Shikadai said over the member, who immediately silenced himself. "Let's make it four days then."

"Four days?!"

"Yes. Four days at fifteen, three at sixteen, two at seventeen, and one day from eighteen and on."

"You are asking too much!"

Shikadai shrugged his shoulders, not really caring about their opinion. "If you don't agree then I could tell the Hokage about you insulting his wife and daughter."

The council members each leaned back in their chairs in fright. They each had the same question in mind: Who was Shikadai talking about?"

"Uzumaki." Shikadai began, who was on the verge of letting his anger loose. "Her name is Himawari Uzumaki and her mother is Hinata Hyuga Uzumaki. Like I said before, if you don't agree with me then like I said before, I can tell the Hokage and have him deal with you. Your choice."

"Approved," Ebizō once again stated before the other members could say something to make the situation worse. He shifted his attention to Himawari. "When you return home, please be sure to thank your father for me."

"May I ask why?"

Ebizō smiled, which had been the first one in a while, with the wrinkles on his face droopping only slightly. "Ever year since he has become Hokage, he makes a special trip during the night to place a flower bouquet on my sister's grave on the day she died."

* * *

The four adults were in the kitchen discussing what happened during the meeting. The two teenagers sat side by side in the livingroom eating their lunch. "So I'll only get to see you for four days?" Himawari questioned him, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"You can pretend I'm away because of a mission," Shikadai reassured her as he weaved one of his arm around her waist. She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder as she placed her empty plate on top of his.

"But. . ." She trailed off, not wanting to finish her statement. Himawari sighed and rubbed her head into his shoulder.

Shikadai kissed the top of her head which made her look up. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone take your place."

A small smile found its way to Himawari's face. She moved her head up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"What's going on here?"

* * *

 ** _Cliffhanger!  
_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Thank you for reading and please review!_**

 ** _SPOILER! Don't read if you don't want to see it!_**

 ** _!_**

 ** _!_**

 ** _!_**

 ** _!_**

 ** _!_**

 ** _Himawari and Shikadai are going on a date next chapter._**


	8. Chapter 8

**_I'm adding the chapter a day early because tomorrow I have a game, it's a half day, and I'm getting my license. One full busy day._**

 ** _It is a little short but it is full of events!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

"What's going on here?"

Himawari blushed and hid her face in Shikadai's shoulder as he placed his chin on her head to look at his mother properly. A smirk adorned Temari's face as she had a hand on her hip and an eyebrow raised in amusement as she waited for her son's answer. The situation was made even worse when Hinata walked in wondering what happened.

"Secret's out, " Shikadai began as he sat up a little more to get more comfortable, which forced Himawari to move slightly. "Himawari and I are dating in secret."

"And you've kept it from us?" Having her as mother, Shikadai has learned by the tone of her voice if she is angry, irritated, or upset. As of now Temari is a piece of all of the above.

"Yes, but for a good reason," he reassured her, knowing she was getting angrier.

That was when Himawari decided to stop hiding and look up, her blush now disappeared. "We didn't want people knowing that the 'Future Kazekage' is dating the Hokage's daughter. Everyone would make a huge deal about it and we wouldn't get any privacy."

The two mothers stayed silent as they gave each other a questioning look, wondering what they should do with their children. After a moment they came to a silent agreement. "Alright, you aren't in trouble," Hinata decided with a smile.

"But!" Temari interrupted. "As a sort of punishment, you two can't be by each other during breakfast, lunch, dinner, or anywhere else for the rest of the trip."

"That's stu-"

Himawari covered his mouth before he could argue and asked, "What if we go on a date?"

"That's different. That's when you can." The two walked away but Temari called over her shoulder, "Don't forget to place your plates in the sink."

Once the couple thought they were alone, Himawari turned her attention to her boyfriend. "I'm guessing we're going out every night then?"

"I already have a plan for tonight," he agreed. "I can use my other ideas for the rest of the week."

* * *

That night while the girls were helping Temari and Hinata cook supper, Boruto came behind his sister and whispered in her ear to be ready for the date at ten. For the rest of the time, Himawari was in full panic mode, wondering what she should wear and why would they have a date so late at night. The adults noticed her distress and dismissed the three girls, insisting they had everything under control.

Once they left the kitchen, Sarada and Himawari headed straight to the latter's guest bedroom. Chocho went to bug Inojin and Mitsuki in the living room. Sarada was sitting on the younger girl's guest bed watching her mess around in her closet when she asked, "So what do you think he planned?"

"I don't know," she admitted as she scavenged through her clothes for something suitable to wear. "That's what scares me."

"I'm sure it's nothing extravagant," Sarada reassured. "But there is something I want to ask you. . ."

Himawari turned herself around with a hop, clutching a clothes hanger in one hand. On the clothes hanger was a beautiful, but plain and yet casual, lavender dress. She closed the door behind her, having decided to wear the dress as she waited for the question.

"How long do you think you two will last?"

Himawari titled her head slightly as she hanged the hanger on the door knob. "What do you mean?"

Sarada sighed, not wanting to explain but did so anyways, "What I mean is, how long do you think it will take for you to love with him?"

"I already do," she answered with no hesitation in her voice. Himawari sat next to Sarada, who scooted over, and bowed her head to think for a moment. She jerked her head up when she continued, "I think I've always had."

"Since when?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" The Uzumaki retorted, standing up for emphases. "Is something going on between you and Boruto?"

Sarada sighed once again, but this time in bewilderment. "I shouldn't be surprised that you know me so well." She stayed silent for a couple minutes as she tried to gain her courage. "My dad wants me to travel around the world with him so he can train me. He wants to teach me how to use the Sharingan properly. He needs an answer by the end of this week."

"Do you know how long it will be?"

"A month a year?" Sarada sighed one last time as she fell back on the bed in frustration and confusion. "I don't know what I should do."

"Well you hardly ever see your dad," Himawari mentioned as she went back to the closet looking for a pair of black legging, anticipating that the date was going to be outside and knowing from her father that it got cold at night in the desert. "Boruto would understand wanting to go with him."

"I guess you're right."

* * *

Time passed by too quickly for the Hokage's daughter. As of now she paced back and forth in the shared bedroom waiting for the time to become ten. Boruto watched her from his bed in amusement, having already dressed for bed. "Quit worrying!" he chided knowingly. "He told me what the date is. It's small but good. Trust me, you'll love it."

Himawari stopped abruptly and swung her head to her brother. "Why did he tell you?"

"Because I knew you would be a worrying mess." In the open doorway, leaning against the door hinge, was Shikadai. He was dressed in a slightly better outfit than that day. Instead of the white jacket he always wore he traded it in for a black one and, unlike usual, he pulled the hair-tie out of his hair letting it flow an inch or two above his shoulder. "You ready?"

With a light blush appearing on her cheeks, Himawari nodded, walking past her brother, who shouted quietly yet playfully, "Have fun on your date!"

His reply was an accidental slammed door.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost, be a little patient."

"Well, I can't see where I'm going!"

"Don't worry, we'll be there in a couple minutes. Watch your step!"

"OW! You could have told me there were stairs!"

"To be fair, I did warn you before you moved forward."

"Why are we going up stairs anyways?"

"You'll see-careful!"

" _Please_ , tell me there's only a couple steps left."

"Okay, we're at the top. Just hold on a sec. . . ."

"Holy-why is it so cold?"

"We're outside. You can open your eyes now."

Himawari slowly opened her eyes and then widened it with a gasp. They were now on the roof of the Kazekage's mansion with it elaborately decorated. On the edges of the roof hanged beautiful white lights and almost the entire 'floor' was covered with sunflowers with an exception of a path that led to the center. In the middle of the roof were two fluffy pillows laying side by side with two fuzzy blankets folded neatly next to them.

"I thought we could stargaze," Shikadai stated bashfully as he handed her his jacket. "And I thought it would be better if you had a little reminder of home."

Himawari put the jacket on as slowly as her shock went away. "But how did-when did you. . .?"

"It was after the others came back from the restaurant and I went to go help my uncles." He grabbed her hand and lightly tugged her to the pillows as they fell gently on the pillows. "I had already thought of this idea so I asked them were I could get some sunflowers. And I'm sorry, but I had to tell them about us before they would answer me."

Himawari smiled and shook her head. "It's alright, as long as they promised not to tell anyone."

"Luckily they did," he reassured her as she moved to a laying down position. He took one of the blankets and covered Himawari up before continuing, "I was even luckier when Uncle Gaara used his sand manipulation jutsu to transplant the flowers. I did the electrical wiring for the lights on the edge of the roof so they'd turn on when the sun sets and I set up an automatic watering system to go off for five minutes every two hours during the day."

Something behind Shikadai caught Himawari's attention. She tried to look around him to get a better view. "What's that?"

He glanced where she at where she was looking and grabbed the object that caught her attention. Shikadai turned himself back with the object in the palm of his hand. The object was a five petaled flower with a solid pink trim, a lighter tinge on the main petals, and a yellow center that held the petals together.

"This," Shikadai began as he twirled the flower in his hand by the stem, "is a desert rose. I put a few bushes among the sunflowers, but in their own separate pots so they wouldn't kill them. The sap is sometime used to make poison kunais." He stopped twirling it and placed the flower behind Himawari's ear. "There, now you look even more beautiful, though that's almost impossible."

Himawari's face turned the same color as the flower at the compliment.

For quite a while, neither one said a word to the other as they laid together and watched the stars. Shikadai was the one to break the silence. "You know, Uncle Kankurō has been working on that puppet for you almost none stop."

"I told him he didn't have to-"

"He wanted to," Shikadai insisted. Then, with a laugh, he explained, "He says that making it is an excuse to not do any actual work. If I remember correctly, he said he'd worked on the head for two hours. He wanted to get the marking as correct as he could."

Himawari sighed in aggravation. "He doesn't have to work on it for so long at a time."

"He wanted to," Shikadai repeated. "Uncle Kankurō wants to make it to where you can use it in and outside battle."

"But that's not my fighting style. He must know that."

"He does, but he knows you'll learn how to eventually."

The conversation died down to only simple talk. Every once in a while Shikadai would make a small joke that Himawari would laugh at. The time was well passed midnight when they decided to turn in for the night. Shikadai escorted her to her bedroom door, having a sneaky suspicion she forgot where to go.

"Thank you for the date," Himawari thanked as she had one hand on the doorknob and the other was holding the blanket that was wrapped around her. "I loved it. It was simple yet-"

"Well thought out?" Shikadai guessed teasingly. In his left arm was the jacket he let her borrow and the bundled up blanket. "Thanks, I try to impress."

She smiled kindly. "I can tell. I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight!"

"Wait." He grabbed her hand and turned her back to face him. Himawari rose an eyebrow in question, waiting to hear an explanation for why he stopped her.

Shikadai didn't say anything, so she tilted her head in confusion, and was rewarded with a light kiss on her lips. A moment passed and he pulled away from her completely. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he walked away from her to his room. Himawari stood there in the silence with a blush covering her whole face.

She smiled down at the ground and was about to open her door when a hand covered her mouth. "Is the Byakugan Princess scared?" The unknown man questioned. "Don't worry, where we're going is a lot scarier."

Himawari opened her mouth to scream, but nothing could come out because she was knocked unconscious.

* * *

 ** _End of the chapter with a cliffhanger!  
If anyone can guess who that mysterious man is I will tell you what I have planned for the next chapter._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?  
_**

 ** _Please let me know and please review!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_How nice of me! I updated a day early again! (Honestly I finished early and I'm eager to hear what you have to say.)_**

 ** _Notice 1: In the last chapter, I thought I had changed Himawari's dress from lavender to yellow but I guess I didn't change it. It is supposed to be yellow but it is now in this chapter so sorry if I confused anyone._**

 ** _Notice 2: Remember in chapter 3 I was going to give you the heads up about when the foreshadow event was going to take place? Well here is part of it, if you can figure it out. If you did PM me or review._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

The next morning Boruto woke earlier than usual expecting to see his sister sleeping with a smile on her face in the bed across the room. He was surprised when that wasn't true but wasn't worried. He figured that she woke early to help their mother with breakfast or to sneak some alone time with Shikadai. He dressed himself before heading downstairs, getting ready to chew his sister out for making him worry. That idea was destroyed when he came into the dining room and saw only Shikadai. Hinata and Temari were in the kitchen cooking while Gaara and Kankuro already left to work on papers.

"Shikadai," Boruto called to his old friend as he descended down the stairs. The teenager looked at him as he asked, "Have you seen Himawari? She's not in our room."

Shikadai frowned, as he realized something. "Now that I think about it, I don't remember her going into her room last night. Did you find or see anything out of the ordinary?"

"My door was open," Boruto recalled. "When you two left, you closed it. There was also a blanket on the ground, like someone left it and didn't bother to pick it up."

"Where's it at now?"

"On my bed."

"Let me see it."

The two made the journey back to Boruto's room to look at the piece of evidence. "Himawari had this last night," Shikadai informed as he picked up the cloth. He moved his head away from the blanket to get a better view of his friend. "Did you find anything else with it?"

Boruto shook his head. "No, that was is."

Shikadai made an incoherent noise as he lifted the cover in the air. Once he did, a small folded slip of paper flittered to the ground. He bend over to grab it. "What's this?"

"Don't know," Boruto commented a little bashfully. "It wasn't there a few minutes ago."

Shikadai unraveled the paper and found that it was a simple message:

 _Don't worry about the Byakugan Princess. We've taken her to our hideout for a little. . . .meeting, you could say._

 _We expect one of you to be there to get her by sundown. Don't keep her and us waiting-_

 _Akatsuki_

"She's been kidnapped," Shikadai deduced as he crumpled up the note and tossed it to the ground, "by the Akatsuki."

* * *

Himawari eyelids fluttered open, but closed sharply due to the bright lights. She tried again but her eyes closed just as fast, the light a little dimmer this time. She opened her eyes one last, slowly, but when they were just a crack she widened them in surprised. Himawari sat up, not even realizing she was laying down, and observed her surroundings.

The room she had woken up in was more like a cave than anything since there was nothing there. The room was vast, very spacious she noticed when she looked to the other side. At the other side was a group of males and one females huddled together discussing something important in harsh whispers, as though they were trying not to awaken her.

Himawari stood shakily and felt something fall off her shoulders. That was when she noticed someone had covered her while she was sleeping. She picked up the cloth and was intrigued by it. It was dark black with red imprints of clouds. Himawari dropped it a second later because she remembered her parents telling a story of some people that wore that same kind of clothing.

She took a cautious step backwards, but the cautiousness backfired on her because the step's noise echoed off the walls. Each members of the group turned their head toward the group, Himawari taking a mental note that her parents were really good at describing what each of the members looked like.

She backed herself into the wall as one of them came toward her. That member, who was the one not wearing the jacket, had his hands up like he wasn't trying to alarm her. "Himawari," the man began as he paused to move a stray piece of black hair behind his ear. "Don't be alarmed. We only want to help you."

Himawari ignored his last statement as she tried to recall his name. "You're Itachi, aren't you?" she asked as she got off the wall. "Sasuke told me and my brother about you. He spoke highly of you."

Itachi faltered in his steps and suddenly stopped. "I. . . . didn't think he would speak of me," he admitted, "considering I put him through so much danger-"

"He hasn't said one bad word about you to his daughter."

The cave was silent for a couple minutes as they processed the unknown information. Itachi was the first to ask, though the surprise was still in his voice, "Sasuke has a _daughter?_ "

Himawari nodded as she picked up his jacket, but kept it in her arms. "Would you like to know her name?"

Itachi made no indication he wanted to know, but Himawari told him anyways.

"Her name is Sarada Uchiha."

* * *

Gaara leaned back in his chair, that was behind his desk, and asked, "Why do you want to be the one to get her?"

Shikadai shrugged his shoulders in a lazy manner, his hands tucked into the front pockets of his pants. "It's just one last crazy thing I'll be doing before becoming Kazekage. But, of course, I'll be on this mission as a Sand shinobi."

"And you think you're capable of saving her on your own?"

"It's a simple get in, get out mission. We'll be back before the sun sets."

"Are you sure?"

Shikadai hesitated, thinking if that was true or not. Luckily he couldn't get called out on it because the door to the Kazekage's office burst open. Walking down the path with two others trying to keep up with him was Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki. Boruto abruptly stopped beside Shikadai while the other two stopped behind him to catch their breath. "Let us come with."

"Boruto-"

"Before you say, anything here us out," Boruto pleaded before Gaara could begin a sentence. When the Kazekage didn't say anything, Boruto took the opportunity to say what he wanted. "My sister's the one that's been kidnapped. It's only right that I'm part of the rescue squad that saves her."

"This isn't a simple rescue mission," Gaara argued forcefully as he leaned forward to get his point across better. "She has been taken by well-trained assassins that won't hesitate to kill her if necessary. All we need is someone to get her undetected. Now if it was a mission to save a Kage-" Sarada gasped but Gaara paid no attention as he continued, "then I would gladly have the three of you go, but since it's not I won't allow it."

Boruto clenched his fists and bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything rash. He turned himself toward the door and stormed out with his teammates following. "Boruto!" Mitsuki grabbed his arm forcing him to stop in the middle of the hallway. "What are you planning now?"

"Gaara won't let us come with," Boruto began keeping his gaze straight ahead, "so it looks we have to sneak out of the village-"

"He did give us permission!" Sarada argued in a harsh whispered. The two boys looked at her waiting for an explanation. "He said he'd let us go to save a Kage."

"Himawari's not a-"

"But I did promise her when we were kids that five years after I've become Hokage, I would give the title to her."

The boys were silent as they pondered the technicality. "Then explain to us how Gaara knows of your promise to Himawari." Mitsuki challenged.

"I don't know," she admitted but her determination didn't falter. "Somebody must have told him, but he _is_ giving us permission to go! He just couldn't say so out loud because two of the council members were watching us."

"Alright," Boruto agreed. "Let's wait for Shikadai by the gates then. He'll have a plan to save my sister."

* * *

A few minutes passed after Shikadai left his office and Gaara was the only one left in his office. A light tap on the window behind him interrupted his thoughts. Not needing to get up, Gaara manipulated the sand to open the window. "Do you think they'll figure it out?" Gaara asked the supposed intruder as he climbed through the window.

"I'm sure Himawari will," the unknown man agreed, as he closed the window watching the three teenagers hurry to the entrance gate. "And if she does, there is a slight possibility she'll find a way to contact the four."

Gaara leaned back in his chair in frustration. "What is Naruto planning? Hiring the Akatsuki to 'kidnap' his daughter but actually train her? Then have them and the two of us go along with the next?"

"He wants her to use her ability," the man acknowledged. "Naruto claims she is holding back from what she can really do. He needs us and the Akatsuki to bring it out of her."

"Is it what I think it is?"

"He claims so."

"So the cycle starts again. And he'll let his daughter think he thinks of her that way?"

"He has a plan for that," the unnamed man said as he slowly walked to the front of Gaara's desk. "Naruto's had this planned out for a while now. He even had Shikamaru help him out on one or two things."

Gaara sighed as he glanced up at the clock. "You better go, then. They'll be lost without their guide."

The man nodded as he walked to the exit. Gaara called to the retreating figure, "Good luck, Sasuke."

* * *

"My dad _hired_ you?" Himawari repeated the explanation, not believing the words said. "Why?"

"He wanted us to train you." Pain stated bluntly, as he walked around her which made her tense. "He claimed you were weak and I'd say he's right."

Himawari narrowed her eyes at him in anger. "You are lying. He would never say something like that."

"We wouldn't be talking right now if he didn't," he challenged. When Himawari didn't say anything, he walked to the doorway on the other side of the room with Konan following him. Konan entered before him but Pain turned his head to shout at the others. "You know what the Hokage wants. I will be back in an hour to check on the progress made. I was given word the group is leaving Suna soon."

"They're supposed to be leaving now," Sasori muttered, his pet-peeve of not liking to be kept waiting kicking in. Pain didn't give any sign he was listening as he left without any acknowledgement.

Sasori sighed, deciding he and Deidara would start off first with the training. "Alright, Himawari. Let's start with something easy and simple."

"Like what?"

"We heard about you failing your graduation exams, un." Deidara explained as he began to stretch, anticipating the exercise he'd have to do. "You either refused or couldn't summon a clone. We are going to-"

Himawari groaned in a whining manner. "But I can't use that jutsu though!"

"That's why you're going through this training-"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what...?"

Himawari sighed in aggravation, frustration, and annoyance. "I guess I'll just have to show you." She placed her hands in the common symbol. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two puffs of clouds appeared before her, but once it subside nothing was there.

"Himawari?"

"You're going to have to attack me." She insisted as she got into a defensive stand. "They won't appear unless you do."

The two members gave each other a look and shrugged. What could go wrong? Sasori sent his puppet at the girl while Deidara threw his animal-shaped clay bombs.

That happened to be the biggest mistake they made all day.

* * *

"How are we going to find her?" Sarada questioned the three boys who were about to run in who knows what direction.

"Boruto has that covered." Shikadai looked over to his friend for confirmation. "Right?"

Boruto nodded as he closed his eyes in concentration. The others waited for him to do something, though only one of them knew what he was doing. A few minutes passed when he finally opened his eyes in a hurry, the veins to his eyes more prominent. "She's in some cave by a forest," he answered. "There's a pool of water surrounding the entrance."

The other two didn't know how he could see where she's at, so Shikadai was the one to ask, "What is she doing?"

Boruto hesitated. After a moment he said, "She's fighting against two of the members. The other's are just watching."

"Wait," Mitsuki insisted. "How are you able to..?"

"I have the Byakugan," Boruto explained as his eyes reverted back to normal. "I've been training so I can use it. The longest I've maintained it is so far three minutes and it takes me double that to actually 'summon' it."

"Let's not waste time then," Sarada insisted before Boruto could get into more details. "Lead the way, Boruto."

* * *

Sasori and Deidara fell to the ground in a pile of panting mess while Himawari stood a few feet away, having released her clones. "Are you giving up already?" Himawari questioned with a hand on her hip and her eyebrow raised in the same manner. "I thought you said I needed to work on that jutsu more. How am I supposed to do that if my sparring partners are on the ground asleep?"

Deidara was about to say something but was interrupted when Pain walked into the room. "They are on their way," he provided, "and faster than we expected. Their 'guide' will meet up with the four half way and stall for as long as needed. Itachi, help her improve her dōjutsu."

As Itachi came forth, Himawari groaned in frustration. "Why do I even have to do this?" She whined. "I'm strong enough right now-"

"But you and I both know you have no control." Pain argued. Noticing that she was giving him no real respect, he asked her, "What is your dōjutsu?"

"My dōjutsu? The Byakugan, of course." She answered as she got out of her 'sassy' pose. "What does that have to do with-"

"Do you know the history of it?" He questioned. "Do you know where it originated or how you got it?"

Himawari clenched her jaw in aggravation. "I got it genetically from my mother who got it because her eyes were operated on so she could be adopted."

Pain let the comment slide as he continued, "The dōjutsu is available from the time of birth. In very rare occasions they can be awakened yet in only one eye. You are the exception because the Byakugan was awakened in both of your eyes."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Other dōjutsu can be awakened from the Byakugan since it is the oldest dōjutsu." Pain started walked to Himawari in a challenging manor. "But I think you already know that and so does your brother."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you," he stated like that answered the question as he stopped infront of the teenager, towering over her in height. "Your brother, Boruto, was teaching you how to use the Rasengan with his friends watching. The jutsu appeared in his hand and a moment later it did the same in yours with ease."

"That proves nothi-"

"Are you sure?" Pain questioned. When the girl didn't answer he went on with his rant, "There is only one jutsu that allows you to copy another almost undetected and that jutsu happens to be a dōjutsu; a dōjutsu that can be inherited from blood-line or training with a different dōjutsu long enough to obtain it."

Himawari closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at his or the others' stares. "Am I wrong?" Pain inquired. "Or do you really posses the. . ." He trailed off, not finishing his question because he was given an answer when Himawari reopened her eyes.

Her eyes were no longer their beautiful blue color. They were now tainted red, taking the form of the infamous Sharingan.

* * *

"So, Dad," Sarada began as they jumped from tree to tree to where get to Himawari, "how come you're with us?" Sasuke had joined the four-some when the squad made it to the forest edge.

Sasuke answered nonchalantly, "Gaara requested that I come with. Something about how I have more experience with the Akatsuki than you do. I also wanted to come with to make sure you'd be safe."

Sarada blushed at the comment while her two team-mates chuckled, having the temptation to tease her.

The group didn't talk for a while, but all of a sudden Shikadai stopped forcing the others to. When they looked back at him they noticed he was holding his phone that was vibrating. He looked up at Boruto. "Why are you calling me?"

Boruto gave him a weird look. "What are you talking about? I don't even know where my phone is. I lost it somewhere in my bedroom last night. Answer it."

Shikadai waited a moment before bringing the device to his ear. "Hello?"

 _'Shika?'_

Shikadai choked on air as he blurted out unprofessionally, "Himawari? What the hell?"

Before he could get an explanation, Boruto stole his phone and brought it to his own ear. "Himawari?"

 _'Yes, Boruto?'_

"I have a couple questions I want to ask you. One, are you okay?"

 _'I'm perfectly fine. They've been helping me train.'_

"I'll have you explain that later, but I'll ask my next question first, okay?"

 _'Okay?'_

"Good, now don't take this personally or the wrong way, but why the hell do you have my phone?!"

Himawari's laughter could be heard from the other side of the phone though it was faint. _'I stole it last night so you couldn't text your girlfriend. Anyways, can you put me on speakerphone? I don't want to repeat myself.'_

Boruto sighed as he did just that, now holding the phone in the palm of his hand. "Alright, time to explain."

 _'There's nothing really to explain. Dad hired the Akatsuki to stage a kidnapping when its actually a-umm, emergency training session? He wanted them to make me unlock. . .something.'_

Boruto hesitated before saying, "You don't mean-"

 _'You already know. Dad knows too, but he doesn't know I've already unlocked it. Anyways, you better hurry up! Sasori's getting tired of waiting and the others are getting tired of him complaining.'_

* * *

"So what the hell is going on?" Boruto questioned his little sister, not really caring that the 'enemy' was surrounding him and the others. Sarada was more cautious and a little scared, which showed when she grabbed onto her father's sleeve in fright. His response was to wrap his arm around her and pull her closer into his side, causing Sarada to lower her guard slightly.

Hidan, who was sitting against the wall a few feet away with his triple-bladed scythe at his feet, scoffed at the boy's question. "You just made it painfully obvious that you're the Nine Tail's brat."

"Hidan," Kakuzu, who was standing beside him, barked as kicked the other's weapon away in annoyance. "Don't say anything stupid."

Hidan flicked his head away in aggravation while he pulled his scythe back to his feet; however, Hidan did heed Kakuzu's warning and kept silent stubbornly. That didn't stop Shikadai from making his observation. "You're the one that killed my dad's sensei," he realized.

Hidan didn't make a verbal response. He only stared at the soon-to-be Kazekage. Shikadai asked the man, "Did you know he had a wife who was expecting-"

"I found out the day after," Hidan complied. "If I had known that before I fought Asuma, I wouldn't have killed him."

"Why?"

The criminal retorted bitterly, "Because it goes against what I believe." Shikadai gave him a questioning look which made Hidan explain himself. "When a potential client contacts Kakuzu and I to kill someone, I do a background check on that someone. If that someone happens to be a newly-wed, soon-to-be parent, has a child that is under the age of ten, or anything like that I don't do the job. Instead I do a background check on the client and if I find something incriminating, I question them about it. If they don't give me the right answer or the answer I want, I kill them. If I don't find anything incriminating I don't speak to the client again."

Shikadai crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I do," Himawari insisted as she moved herself to stand in front of Shikadai. "And I believe in second chances."

Shikadai motioned his head to two particular members. "Even with those two?"

"They were doing what they thought was right at the time."

The couple had a stare-down as they waited for the other to waver. Barely a minute passed when Shikadai gave up with a sigh. "If you believe they deserve a second chance, then I won't argue with you."

Himawari gave him a smile before she adverted her attention to her brother, her smile disappeared. "To answer your question, Boruto, Dad hired the Akatsuki to train me because he thought I was weak. But, he does know about my ability."

"Which one are you-?"

"My ability to copy another shinobi's jutsu," she simplified. "He has no idea about the other."

"For the four of you that don't know," Himawari began as she addressed Sarada, Sasuke, Shikadai and Mitsuki, "I have the Sharigan, though it doesn't need to be activated for me to copy someone else. And like any other user, I can use the jutsu later."

Sasuke gave a glare-like stare to the infamous group. "What did Naruto offer you as payment?"

"Money," Kakuzu bluntly stated.

"And," Itachi added, "if we wanted, we would be allowed to live in any village we please with no trouble caused if we did what we were supposed to do."

Shikadai nodded appreciatively, his arms still crossed. "That's a good reward." He heard Sasori chuckle under his breath so he inquired, "Why are you laughing?"

Sasori smiled which made Shikadai think he looked a lot like Gaara. "Temari."

"Excuse me?"

"You're Temari's son." Sasori explained. "I can tell by your eyes and the fact you're doing the same thing she does; crossing your arms when you hear an answer you don't like."

"How do you know-"

"She and her brothers are my younger cousins," he provided. "I've kept an eye on them over the years. I have only one question though."

"Go ahead."

Sasori clenched his fist and raised it over his heart. "The Father and Mother puppets, has Kankuro found them a new owner yet?"

"Almost," Shikadai answered knowingly. "He's trying to make it to where the puppets can be put together to form one giant puppet and then separate when need fit."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. . ."

"Sorry to interrupt," Mitsuki apologized, "but we have to go. We said we'd be back before sunset and that's in a couple hours from now."

Before the retrieval squad left, Shikadai told Sasori, "I'm to be inducted as Kazekage in a couple days. I'd like it if you would come. You can bring another member with you and, if you want, you can stay in Suna."

"I'll think about it, but I don't think you can-"

"I'm going to be Kazekage," he argued. "I can do whatever I see fit. I hope to see you there and the three of them will forgive you."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because of what you said before." Shikadai smirked which reminded all of the members of his father. "I'm Temari's son. Later!"

* * *

 ** _Damn! This chapter took forever to type! I was going to end it when Himawari told Itachi his niece's name, but then I kept going and going then I stopped it abruptly._**

 ** _I have a question and I need a lot of opinions and answers:_**

 ** _Would you rather wait two weeks and have a long chapter or keep it the same, meaning less wait but less of a chapter?_**

 ** _Until I get an answer I will do the latter._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Thank you for reading and please review!_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Thank you_** onlyagirl **_and_** MikaStarYT **_for reviewing_** ** _. It had been a while since I got one and I wasn't actually expecting one. This chapter is dedicated to both of you._**

 ** _This chapter is going to be the foreshadow event I was talking about in chapter 3 and 9._**

 ** _I hope you enjoy it._**

 ** _Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

In the day that occurred during Himawari's supposed kidnap, not much had happened. The night she returned she was bombarded with questions from the two teens that didn't go with. Himawari answered them all but did become a little irate when Chōchō made a comment about how cruel the 'horrible jerks' are for kidnapping the 'weak and sickly' daughter of the famous Hokage. Instead of engaging the Akimichi in a full-fledged arguement, Himawari decided to do an alternative that would result in more of a punishment for her.

Himawari activated her Byakugan and hit one the main tenketsus in Chōchō's stomach which also disrupted the others around it. The poor girl couldn't eat her supper and was forced to stay in bed because of her not being able to move. Coincidentally, that was Himawari's punishment; she was allowed no dinner and was forced to go to bed after she had a meeting with Gaara.

The meeting took place in Gaara's study, which is were he sometimes worked if he had a couple papers left to sign or reports to look over. Along with the two in the story was Boruto and Sarada (because they were witnesses), Shikadai (because he wanted to know what was going on with his girlfriend), Sasuke (because he played an important part in the meeting and wasn't leaving Suna until morning), and Kankurō (actually there was no real reason for him to be there; he just wanted to listen to it). Since there was only one chair they were all standing except for Gaara and Kankurō. Gaara sat on the edge of the small desk with his arms crossed while Kankurō took the chair. He was working on the puppet for Himawari and he didn't want to strain his neck from looking down while standing.

"So," Gaara began as he attempted to start the conversation, "Boruto summarized most of what happened. There is only one question I want to ask, if you are willing to answer."

Himawari glanced over to her brother, who gave her a nod of reassurance. She sighed. "Go ahead, ask."

Gaara thought for a moment to think of a way to ask his question without being nosy. "Boruto said you had two unique abilities. He told about your Sharingan. He refused to give any details about the other. Would you mind enlightening us?"

"Well," Himawari started off reluctantly, "my ability is the reason why I failed my graduation tests so many times-"

"To be fair," Boruto accidentally interrupted her for a short confidence boost, "you didn't finish your last tests, so you could have passed it-" He stopped abruptly when his sister gave him a look that told him he wasn't helping.

"Anyways," she continued doubtfully, "the reason why I fail is because of my Shadow Clone Jutsu. Actually, I never actually performed the jutsu because I was afraid from what happened the first time I used it."

"What do you mean?"

"It happened a few years ago-."

* * *

 _Dad had just become Hokage. Boruto and I were adjusting to him working in the office. One morning before heading off he started telling us of his first mission escorting Mr. Tazuna to his home in the Land of Waves. He told us about the two chūnin he didn't expect to see and how he froze up. Dad went on talking about how Sasuke managed to beat them both without any help. Dad had gotten stabbed by a poison kunai and he bled out the poison, promising to not freeze up again and to never have his friends fend for themselves again. I had laughed happily when he told me that because it explained parts of the other stories I've heard about him._

 _Dad continued to tell us about him and Sasuke tricking Zabuza and his clone to free their sensei, how a masked ninja faked killing Zabuza, how the two went through chakra training, how he met Haku and thought he was a woman (Boruto and I couldn't help laughing about that) and then he told us about how he was left at the house to rest while the others guarded Mr. Tazuna when he was working._

 _Dad later on woke up and saved a couple people from a kidnapping. Meanwhile Sasuke was fighting Haku in an ice cage, Kakashi was fighting Zabuza in hard to see through mist, and Sakura was protecting Mr. Tazuna. Dad arrived some time later and went inside the cage not knowing he couldn't get out. He and Sasuke attempted to destroy the ice mirrors but it didn't work. They continued to get hurt by Haku's attack, but Sasuke was starting to dodge them because his Sharingan awakened. Haku noticed so he went after Dad, who was exhausted._

 _Sasuke protected him,_ _voluntarily taking the attack. Dad asked why he saved him and Sasuke said it was on instinct. He fell unconscious after saying he had promised not to die before he killed his brother. Dad genuinely thought Sasuke was dead and went berserk._

 _He described vividly what he looked like. He grew claws, his teeth became fangs, and his pupils became slitted. Orange chakra spilled out of him and it healed all of his wound. Dad stopped the story there, noticing that he was running late, but not before making the comment that that was the first time he used Kurama's chakra._

 _Dad left for the office and a few minutes later Mom was about to leave to go to the store. She asked if we wanted to go with but Boruto said no, wanting to help me with my training. She left, telling us to be careful and not to do anything reckless._

 _We were in the backyard. Boruto produced a shadow clone so I could see how to do it. After storing my chakra, I activated the jutsu, with the image of what Dad looked like in the story still in my mind. When the puff of smoke dissipated, a look-a-like of me wasn't there. Instead, it was Dad in that angered mode. He glared up at Boruto and got on all fours, snarling, "I'll kill you!" thinking he was the enemy._

 _Boruto fought against him while I just stood there, panicked. Soon, Boruto realized he was only a shadow clone. He yelled at me to release the jutsu and I did, but a few seconds later than I should have. The clone had scratched Boruto, leaving a burn mark down the front of his shoulder. He tried to joke about it but I was scared. I ran to my bedroom and locked myself in there. He pounded on my door, trying everything to get me to get out. He even apologized though it was all my fault. I screamed, "I'm never using that jutsu again!"_

* * *

Himawari shook her head as she stared down at her feet, afraid to look into the Kazekage's eyes and because she was on the verge of tears. "I have no control," she deduced. "That was what Pain said when I used that jutsu at the hideout, but that's not entirely true. If the clone appears, then its meant to attack. If the clone doesn't appear, then it is meant as a defense and appears when I get attacked. It switches to offense after I've been attacked."

"At first I did think I had no control because of the first incident," she admitted bashfully. "But after I summoned the two clones at the hideout, I realized something."

"What?"

Himawari adjusted her eyes up to look at the Kazekage. Behind the blood-shot eyes were bliss and amazement. "I could breathe again," she whispered with a incredulous tone in her voice.

"Wait," Sarada insisted before Himawari continued with her explanation. "Mom said chakra flooded into your lungs-"

"Because I had an over-built," Himawari finished as she adverted her gaze back to the floor. "The over-built is because my network adapted to my shadow clones. I have a large amount of chakra, even larger than Dad's because of my clones."

"How?" Gaara inquired. "What does it have to do with your clones?"

"My clones are clones of other people," she explained. "They have the same abilities as the real one. Due to that fact I supply them with the chakra they need to perform it. I was afraid I couldn't pass the graduation exam because the clones were of other people and I was afraid that someone could get hurt like Boruto did, so I didn't do the jutsu."

"But do you think you could pass the test if your clones were okay-ed?" Sasuke tried to confirm, having a plan in his mind for something.

Himawari turned her head, a look of determination in her eyes as she said, "Absolutely."

* * *

Not long after the adults sent the kids away, needing to talk about something important. They waited a couple minutes before speaking, just in case the kids kept around for a little bit to listen. Gaara was the first to speak which gave Sasuke the impression that the coast was clear. "What are you thinking Sasuke?"

"I say you call for a Kage meeting in Konoha to be held in about three days." Sasuke started as he moved to stand in front of him. "Shikadai will have already become Kazekage and I will be there to lead the meeting."

"And?"

"The meeting will be Himawari finishing her exam." Sasuke explained with a slight yawn. "She will do the jutsu in front of the Kages and they will determine if she passes or not."

"What about the Chunin Exams?" Kankurō inquired as he sanded part of the puppet's body. "There's one coming in a few months and to qualify you need a team."

"I'm sure they will make an exception." Sasuke reassured. "They will probably handicap her or something."

"If you're sure then I'll set the meeting up." Gaara promised as he wrote himself a reminder and placed it on the edge of his desk. "Are you staying for his induction tomorrow?"

"No, I have something I need to take care of a few hours away. I plan on leaving after I talk to Sarada in the morning. I wish him a good event though."

"Thank you, Sasuke."

* * *

 ** _End of chapter!_**

 ** _The next chapter is Shikadai's induction as Kazekage!_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know. Thank you for reading and please review!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_This is a Shikadai chapter and it is two days early! Homecoming is in two days, the game starts at five and I'm a player, so I have no time to update it then._**

 ** _The chapter is short due to the fact I only want this one event in the chapter. To make it up to you I am adding another chapter about the same length. The two short chapters combined will be the same length as a regular one. And the second chapter is Himawari's perspective of the ceremony!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _Enjoy._**

* * *

The day had finally come. The day that Temari had been regrettably waiting for since her son was born. It was the day when Shikadai had to stop acting like a lazy kid and start being an active mature adult.

Today is the day Shikadai becomes Kazekage.

Technically he would be inducted around sunset giving the council and the people time to prepare. Through-out the day Shikadai would look out the window, look at the clock, and then look back out the window to only sigh in anguish. He would go through this cycle every ten or so minutes. Shikamaru, having arrived when he first started to do the routine, asked him why he was doing that. His answer?

"I invited a couple people to watch the ceremony. I'm not sure if they're coming but I'm hoping they do."

The time continued to fly by. About fifteen minutes before the ritual, Shikadai was getting dressed by the seamstress with his parents and uncles in the room.

"Alright!" The seamstress exclaimed as started to put away her things. "I'm all done! The last thing you need to do is to pick which head-protector you want to use."

"I can't have them both?"

The seamstress shook her head. "I'm afraid not. It goes against our village's tradition and the council won't allow it."

She left without another word causing Shikadai to grumble under his breath. He grabbed the head-protectors from the table and pondered on which one he should use for the ceremony. Shikamaru inquired in confusion, "Why does he need it for the ceremony?"

"Part of the ceremony involves the conductor engraving the kanji symbol for symbol for 'Kage' on the back of metal plate on the protector." Gaara explained. After he looked out the window to look at the crowd, he turned back to his indecisive nephew. "Since I am to be the conductor, I will allow both."

Shikadai sighed in relief and was about to place the object in his robe pocket when his mother decided to question him. "Why is so important which one you chose anyways?"

"Because of who they belonged to before him." Kankurō answered before giving the soon-to-be Kazekage a knowing yet amused look. "Isn't that right, Shikadai?"

Shikadai sighed once again but this time in annoyance because he'd have to give away his, and possible his two friends', secret. Shikadai turned to look at his parents so he could explain to them. "Before our graduation exam, Boruto, Inojin, and I found out that if we have a deceased family member we can take their head-band and use it as our own." At their shocked look, Shikadai removed the metal plates from both of the cloths and handed it to the respected parent. "Their name is engraved on the back so we'd remember who it belonged to before us. For my Suna protector, I asked for Grandpa Rasa's with Gaara's approval. For my Konoha protector, and when you weren't in the room, I asked the Hokage for Grandpa-"

Shikadai stopped himself from saying his other grandfather's name because of his father's reaction. Shikamaru had accidentally slammed the metal on the table and stormed out of the room in a hurry. Temari sighed. She handed Shikadai back the metal and kissed his forehead. "Don't take that the wrong way," she advised with a small smile. "He's just being an emotional cry baby again. He knows you are just being respectful because he had died during the war. He is proud of you for doing what you did."

What was left of the group was about to leave the room and head to the area when a messenger stopped them. "There are two outlaws outside the entrance gate. I refused to let them in but they claimed to have been invited to the new Kazekage's induction ceremony. They won't leave until they had a word with all of you."

The five headed out to the designated area to find what the messenger said was correct. There were two criminals at the gate but they did indeed have a invite. The duo was Deidara and of course Sasori. The latter stepped in front of the other, wanting to be the one to speak though he couldn't come up with the courage to say it.

Gaara was the first to break the silence when he asked, "Why have you come here?"

Sasori swallowed the lump in his throat to say in a rush, "I'm sorry."

The Sand Siblings were surprised about the confession and Sasori didn't falter when they asked for him to explain to himself. "I'm sorry for being involved with having to kidnap you. I'm sorry for putting both you and Kankurō in life threatening situations. I'm sorry for endangering the village. And here." He handed Gaara an envelop which he took hesitantly. "You can give that money back to the Hokage. I don't want it and I don't want to be involve in his plan anymore."

Sasori took a moment to catch his breath before he asked the three of them, "Can you forgive me?"

The sibling gave each other a look while Shikadai was silently hoping that they would. After a minute Gaara finally said, "Yes, we forgive _both_ of you." The statement shocked Deidara. He was about to say something but Gaara had cut him off before he could. "We better be on our way. The ceremony is to begin at any moment and we're going to be late."

* * *

 ** _I'm ending it here. The next chapter will be during the ceremony and, like I said before, in Himawari's perspective._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know! Thank you for reading and please review._**


	12. Chapter 12

**_I am so proud of myself! I finished the past two chapters in two days! (I finished a few days ahead schedule) Time to work on next weeks._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_**

* * *

"Where are they?" Boruto questioned his sister as they stood waiting in the crowd with the villagers for the ceremony to begin. "It should have already started."

"How should I know?" Himawari retorted as she looked around for two particular people. "Only family members are allowed."

"You would think they would let his girlfriend watch him get ready," someone teased behind her.

Himawari blushed and looked up at the adult that snuck up beside them. "Who told you?"

Shikamaru laughed lightly with a shake of his head. "My wife mentioned something about it yesterday. And I'm glad it's you and not some uptight spoiled rich girl that the council chose for him."

"I'll take that as a compliment." A thought popped into her mind so she asked, "So why aren't you with Shikadai?"

Shikamaru was about to answer, but kept himself quiet because of the woman who wormed her way beside him and answered for him. "He got emotional about Shikadai choosing to use both of our father's ninja head-bands for the ceremony."

"You could have just lied." Shikamaru insisted a little bit aggravated. That mood didn't last long because he kissed his wife's cheek and wrapped his arms around her waist as he held her from behind. "What took so long?"

Temari hesitated before saying happily, "The guests Shikadai's been waiting on showed up."

The brother and sister tilted their head slightly in confusion and asked at the same time, "Who?"

"That would be us, un."

Recognizing the voice, Himawari turned herself around to meet a surprising site. The partnered Akatsuki members, Sasori and Deidara, were dressed in a cloak to hide who they were. Himawari didn't really care though about that though. She was just happy that they came. Sasori, noticing her shocked look, asked, "What? You think we wouldn't show?"

"I thought you were afraid to come," she admitted bashfully. "And I assumed you would be scared to ask for forgiveness."

"Well, I guess I proved you wrong." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he said, "I asked the three of them and they agreed for both of us."

Sasori glanced up. "If you don't want to miss the ceremony then look up."

Himawari turned herself around once again to look up at the balcony. Shikadai, dressed in official Kazekage attire with his hair down and the hat on his head, stepped out into the opening with the villagers cheering for him before they officially started the meeting. Gaara had him kneel before him and started spouting something off that Himawari really didn't care about. She watched the event unfold and the more she did, the more she had the urge to look away. Her breaking point was when Shikadai turned his head and looked directly at her, their eyes connecting.

Himawari tore herself away and turned her back to the balcony. She was about to retreat in the crowd but her brother had grabbed her arm before he could. "Let go," she whispered to him so they wouldn't cause a big scene.

"Tell me where you're going."

Himawari looked over her shoulder and gave him a cold glare that could scare anyone. "Let go of my arm or else I'll use Gentle Fist on you right now."

He retracted his hand in a hurry and watch his little sister's retreating figure, not missing that she was trying to wipe away the tears that were falling heavily.

* * *

"How did I know you would be here?"

Himawari flinched at the sound of his voice but refused to look at him. Instead she kept her gaze on the bundle of sunflowers as she asked, "What do you want Shikadai?"

The new Kazekage walked around the young Uzumaki to where he stood in front of her. "I'd like to know what's wrong with my beautiful girlfriend."

Himawari only sighed. She crossed her arms on her pulled knees and laid her head on them, still not looking at him. "It's nothing. . . Don't worry about it."

Shikadai wasn't buying it. He knelt to her height to speak to her properly. "I won't once you tell me why you left the ceremony early."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He rose an eyebrow in question. "Are you sure? When I looked at you the first time you were there before I looked away. When I looked back, you were gone. I asked your brother where you went and he said he didn't know. He said you threaten him if he didn't let go of you and you stormed away crying-."

"I got scared!" She yelled, changing her gaze to look directly at Shikadai. "I got scared because I knew I was losing you. I _knew_ I would see you less and less because of your deal with the council. We can't talk while you are away because I have no way to do so. Is inevitable that we. . . ."

"That we what?"

Himawari choked on tears when she exclaimed, "We will break up!"

"No," he insisted, as he grabbed her hand tightly, "we won't. I promise we won't. It doesn't matter if you have no way to communicate, I _will_ find a way. I said I would stop talking to you when I'm six feet underground and I meant it. And if you're worried that I will like someone else, don't. I have my eyes on you and only you. Okay?"

Himawari nodded as she rested her head on his shoulder as she cried away the tears in her eyes. Shikadai allowed it, not moving from his spot and rubbing her back soothingly. The two didn't notice the unknown jealous person hiding in the shadows, silently vowing to do whatever in their power to break them up.

* * *

 ** _Don't you just hate cliffhangers? Got any guess who the unknown person is?_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_You will find out who the jealous person is this chapter._**

 ** _The beginning is going to be Shikadai perspective then Sarada's! We haven't have a chapter dedicated to her yet, but the chapter will be sort-of short and there will not be a second one like last week. Like I just said, you had two in the same day and they were early._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _Enjoy! :)_**

* * *

The day after Shikadai's coronation, the rest of the group decided to return home by that evening, deeming there was nothing left to do in the village. They would leave at around three to return about six; that way they would have enough time to unpack once they got home.

After the teenagers packed all of their belongings, they decided that they wanted to do something together with Shikadai. Himawari and Boruto couldn't go because they were having a deep conversation with their beautiful mother. Being the nice group they were, they let Shikadai pick the activity. Obviously, he decided to go cloud watching on the Kazekage Mansion's roof. When they got on the roof, the ones who didn't know the sunflowers were there questioned it.

Shikadai, of course lied. "They were placed here so I wouldn't feel homesick and so I wouldn't forget someone."

The group laid on the warm solid sand platform as they stared up at the majestic sky. Nobody spoke for quite a while, not really sure what to say. Finally Inojin asked his old teammate, "So are they going to force you into an arranged marriage?"

Shikadai thought the question was strange but answered anyways, "I hope not. If I don't have a girlfriend or a fiance by the time I'm twenty, then the council will force one on me."

"You're not interested in anyone?" Injoin continued to interrogate the Kazekage as he sat up to talk. "Like a certain princess that looks almost identical to her mother?"

Shikadai sat back up with the other three following his example, wanting to hear the upcoming argument unfold. "What are you doing?"

Inojin shrugged his shoulders. "Is it a crime for me wanting to know my close friend's crush? It's only a question."

"It sounds like you're trying to see if you have any competition or not," Shikadai retorted as he stood over him. "It wouldn't matter either way because Boruto told me she has been crushing on me since we were little."

"So you think history is repeating itself?"

Shikadai crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. He realized that he was doing the habit that Sasori described, but at the moment Shikadai didn't care; he was only pissed. "You know how I feel about her and I knew how you felt about her before. Now, I think you're jealous that I'm so close to her and you've developed a crush on her."

Inojin, both shocked and surprised that he found out so soon, couldn't say a word to defend himself. When he was finally able to, Shikadai cut him off before he could. "This conversation is over. When you want to have a civil conversation that doesn't involve an argument, come find me. For now, leave. This is my special place, not yours."

* * *

The group left for home a couple hours later after Shikadai made it known to all of the villagers that Sasori and Deidara are no longer criminals and will live in the village. Some of them didn't agree but he reassured the two have volunteered to do community service for as long as they need to prove they are innocent.

The group were in sight of the entrance gate to Konoha. At the gate was another former member of the Akatsuki, Itachi, wearing normal clothing and seemingly unharmed. Sarada was the first to approach him but in question. She stood a few feet away from him and asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

"I live in the village now," he answered almost bluntly. "Your father actually got me a place with someone. Sh-They were going to let me stay for free, but I already gave them money for this month's rent."

Sarada zoned out once after her father was mentioned. When she realized he stopped talking, she inquired, "Dad's in the village? Since when?"

"He arrived a few minutes before I did yesterday. He's thinking about leaving again some time tomorrow, but he's waiting on an answer from you; about what he refused to tell me until you talk to him."

Sarada turned her back toward him to look at the group as she started walking backwards in a quickish pace. "I got to go." She spun around and ran off to find her father.

* * *

Sarada practically slammed the door opened to her and her mother's apartment when she arrived. In the joined kitchen and living room was her mother at the stove and her father leaned back in the sofa, with his eyes closed, like he was waiting for her to return. Sarada walked through the doorway and shut the door with as much force as she did opening it. Her mother jumped at the sound but made no comment about it, continuing on with what she was doing.

Her father opened his eyes and pushed his back off the couch. "Do you have an answer, Sarada?"

"Yes," she said confidently. "I want to train with you on one condition."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow in curiosity, but nodded his head for her to continue. Sarada put a hand on her hip as she demanded, "Tell me what the hell is going on with the Hokage, Boruto, and Himawari."

Sasuke shook, thinking in his head that his daughter is as cunning as he is. "Before I tell you, you have to promise me you won't say anything to Himawari. You can tell Boruto but he has to promise to not say a word."

"I promise."

Sasuke sighed, not wanting to explain but did so anyways. "Naruto made a plan to which Himawari can become a genin without going through the traditional graduation exam. With this plan, there are some perks. Himawari would learn to control her clones, which she did, she'd awaken her Sharingan, which she also did, and the former Akatsuki members would be welcome to live in any village they please. That part is still in process, but Himawari is playing a part in that which is what Naruto hoped."

"What plan and why does he want Himawari to be involved with or around the Akatsuki?"

"To answer your second question, Naruto thinks that the former Akatsuki members deserve a second chance and he knows that Himawari believes in second chances. If Himawari is around them enough, she will start to think they aren't as horrible as people say and get others to think they need a redo. It already worked with the Sand Siblings and Shikadai."

Sarada let the information process before she went on, "Okay, but what about my first question; what is the Hokage's plan?"

"His plan is to make Himawari hate him," Sasuke explained casually.

"I don't understand," the young Uchiha confessed.

"Most of Naruto's plans are like that," Sakura retorted, though she kept her back turned toward the two. "His thought process doesn't make sense but his ideas and plans usually are right."

"He wants Himawari to hate him so she will rebel," Sasuke simplified for his daughter. "When she rebels, she befriends his old enemies, the former members of the Akatsuki. When she befriends them, she sees them as people who are misunderstood by their actions. When she does, she will try her hardest to make everyone see them as regular shinobi, not the ex-criminals they once were."

"What about the two leaders?" Sarada argued. "Will she do the same for them after what they did to her mother?"

"Maybe. We will have to see."

* * *

 ** _Done!_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading._**

 ** _Please review!_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_Here is the next chapter! I posted this a day early because I can't wait to show it to you!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

The evening of their return from Suna, the Uzumaki house was silent. They all had went to the living room to talk, but there was a problem. The children didn't say a word to their father about the trip. After a few minutes, Naruto finally asked how Shikadai's induction ceremony went. Himawari tensed at the mention of it and felt like she was going to break down again. Luckily Boruto changed the subject by asking Naruto how the office was while they were gone.

"Pretty normal," Naruto answered with a questioning tone. "Though Gaara requested a Kage meeting in Konoha for tomorrow."

Himawari perked up, suddenly interested in the conversation, but Boruto was the one to do the talking. "Do you know why?"

"He said something about wanting to introduce the new Kage to the others." Naruto informed. "But then today he said Shikadai wanted the Kages to meet his two, well, technically three new guards if want to count Gaara as new."

"Shikadai has four guards?" When Naruto nodded, Boruto laughed shaking his head in disbelief. "Leave it to him to want the extra protection and not need it. I got a gut feeling I know who the other two are."

"Who?"

"You should know," Himawari retorted bitterly as she stood from sofa that she and her brother were on. "You made them a deal, but they wanted out of it so they had to beg for forgiveness!"

"Hima, you don't under-"

Knowing what he was going to say, Himawari turned her back to her father and stomped up stairs to her room in a hurry. Naruto sighed once he heard the door slammed and turned to his son. "I assume Sarada told you everything her father told her."

"That you want to give the Akatsuki members a second chance but you're afraid to so you're tricking Himawari into making everyone think they deserve by having her hate you?" Boruto basically summarized. "She told me and she said I couldn't tell Himawari."

"Are you going to though?"

"No," he decided, "Because she'll figure it out. I guarantee it."

* * *

The next day the meeting was held in the Nara Forest because of Gaara saying they needed the big empty space for what was to unfold. Naruto was anxiously waiting along with his two children who wanted to see their old friend though only a few hours has passed since he saw them. Sasuke waited patiently while his daughter waited impatiently because she was ready to start training.

The Fifth Raikage, Darui, and the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, had already arrived thirty minutes prior to when the meeting was supposed to start. The Sixth Mizukage, Chōjūrō, couldn't make it to the short notice meeting because of a slight problem in his village. All the Kages were waiting on is the new Sixth Kazekage who would introduce his two new guards.

"They're running late," Kurotsuchi said impatiently as ever as she crossed her arms to show her annoyance.

"One of his guards is being stubborn," Boruto answered as he read the text he got from him. "He says the guard knows someone from his old village is here and doesn't want to get bombarded with questions."

Himawari giggled into her hand. "Bombarded?"

He looked at the phone as another text came through and read it out loud, "'His words, not mine.'"

Himawari shook her head in an amusing manner. "Where are they?"

"The forest edge. Apparently he got nervous or something."

"I'll go talk to him-"

"There is no need." The group looked up to find it was Gaara that spoke with the other four people with him. After Himawari hugged him and went back to her spot, Gaara addressed the other Kage and the guest, since he would be co-leading the meeting, "First off I'd like to introduce the new Kazekage, my nephew, Shikadai Nara." Shikadai removed his hat and the others who knew him were surprised that he kept his hair down. "The second part I will leave to Sasuke."

Sasuke moved toward the front of the pack to say his piece. "This may not seem important, but I assure you it is. In the Leaf Village, there is a child, the Hokage's daughter might I add, has failed her graduation test because of a simple justu that she refuses to use so no one can get hurt. She was unable to finish her last test due to her teacher being unfair; however there is a rule that she can finish the test in front of the Kages and they decide if she passes or not."

"What is the jutsu?" Darui questioned.

"It's her father's famous jutsu." Sasuke began, "but in this case it is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Her version of the jutsu is different from others."

"Go ahead and have her perform the jutsu then!" Kurotsuchi insisted excitedly.

Sasuke turned to Himawari and asked her, "How many clones do you wish to summon?"

"Only one." She answered as she stepped forward. She placed her hand in the symbol and announced, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, her clone appeared. The clone stood a couple feet over her. It- _he_ , had short, unkempt, dark-colored hair, and black eyes. He wore the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which includes a high-collared, dark-colored outfit along with a tantō strapped to the right side of the back of his shoulder. He also wore what appeared to be a harness for his tantō which ran across his chest and fastened over both his shoulders.

Himawari winced sheepishly when she saw Sasuke's reaction: wide eyes of shock and mouth slightly agape. "I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely. "My mind went back to the picture I saw of him, Itachi, and you as a kid. You see, I can also summon a clone of someone just by looking at their picture, but they don't have a voice because I never heard it."

"It seems like you know this person Sasuke," Omoi commented, acting pretty calm about the clone not looking like the girl. "So who is he?"

"My brother's closest friend. This is **Shisui Uchiha**."

* * *

A couple days has passed since the meeting took place. Three out of the four Uzumaki's were eating their dinner, silently hoping that the other was okay on his mission and it wasn't pouring down on him like it was in Konoha. Like before Naruto was the one to speak first, "So today I was thinking about what mission I should put you on and I was wondering what you would prefer."

"How about ones pertaining to Suna?" Himawari suggested, not looking at her dad because she was still ticked at him. She played her foot as she said offhandedly, "I could see them more often if-"

"I hope you aren't referring to Shikadai." When his daughter didn't answer, Naruto sighed. "I don't approve of your relationship with him."

Hinata and Himawari both stared at him, one more stunned than the other and one wondering that's what he's doing more than the other. Himawari asked in an equally bland and stunned stone, "What?"

"Hima-"

"No!" She shouted standing abruptly which shook all the items on the table. "How can you disprove of us? We are really close friends and not even a couple yet so you can't-"

"Yet?" Her father repeated, not bothered by her actions. "So there is something going on between the two of you?"

Himawari grew furious and decided to let all her anger out, which happened to include the truth. "Yes! In fact I just lied! Shikadai and I have been together for a little while now. In fact we have been on several _dates."_

"Himawari," her mother said soothingly. "Please calm down before you say anything you'll regret."

Himawari shook her head, not believing her mother was on her father's side instead of hers. "I'm out of here."

Before her parents could stop or argue with her, she was out the door running in the rain to find someone she could talk to.

* * *

 ** _Cliffhanger! Got any idea who the 'someone' is? Here's a hint: it's not Shikadai._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_So...I got a little problem that all of you may not like. I've become interested in another story idea. I did give you a warning though a few chapters ago. The only reason I have this chapter done is because I finished it a couple weeks ago._**

 ** _Anyways, I'm planning on working on that story for a little bit then come back to this one. How long will you be fine with me being away from this? A couple weeks, a month? If you have a reasonable answer please review and I will try to come back to this story by that time frame. If you want to know what the story is, I will tell you what category and when I'm adding it._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

 _Knock, knock, knock!_

"I'll be there in a minute!" The person outside couldn't hear because of the rain, but waited for a moment before continuing:

 _Knock, knock!_

"Hold on a sec!"

A moment later Iruka opened the door dressed in his pajamas with a blanket over his arms. He was greeted by a soaking Himawari. "What in the world?" He ushered the girl in and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. "What are you doing out in this weather, child?"

"I had a fight with Dad," Himawari answered as she took off her soaking wet shoes. "I needed somebody to talk to and you were the first person to come to mind."

"Well I am honored." Iruka escorted the girl into the living room, though it felt like it had gotten smaller to Himawari. "The guest room is down the hall like before. There should be some clothes in the closet that you can wear. The bathroom is in the same place as last time. You can throw your wet clothes in the dryer and we can talk afterwards."

Himawari nodded her head as she ran as fast as she could to the room so she wouldn't drip on the hardwood floor of the living room. Iruka chuckled to himself as he waltzed into the kitchen to make a couple warm drinks. "She may look like her mother," he said under breath as searched for two coffee cups, "but she definitely has your spirit, Naruto."

* * *

Himawari opened the closet door and was surprised by the clothing. Though it has been a few years since she visited, she didn't remember any of the clothes. However, just because she remember them doesn't mean she didn't recognize them. Some of the jackets and pants that were hanged up she saw in pictures of her father. There was one or two things that she knew that didn't belong to her father. For example the big red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side. There was also another haori with red flames along the bottom, but she knew it belonged to her grandfather because of the words 'Fourth Hokage' written vertically down the middle of the back.

Himawari unzips the black and orange jacket and puts in on, but doesn't zip it back, having a black tank top underneath that surprisingly wasn't wet. She regrettably puts on the orange sweat pants and closes the door. She puts her hand in the right pocket and touches something, almost box like. She pulls it out to find a small black jewelry box that could be used for rings.

She gathered her wet clothes and throws them into the dryer down the hall before turning it on. Himawari walked back into the living room, having opened the box. "Grandpa, what is this?"

Iruka came into the living room and set the girl's glass down as he examined the item in the box. "Oh!" He sat on the chair across from her before explaining, "That originally belonged to the First Hokage. He gave it to his granddaughter, the Fourth Hokage. Years later she made a bet with your father when he was about your age. He had won and he got the necklace."

"Why is it in pieces?"

Iruka sighed, the memory being painful. "It is in pieces because your father broke it. He broke it when Pain had destroyed the village. He had gotten trapped by Deva Pain and your mother came onto the battlefield to save him. She confessed her feelings for her father then attempted to free him from his bonds while fighting Pain. Pain had managed to hurt her and had her beaten on the ground beside him and your father couldn't see her. Pain brought out this sword-like object and stabbed her. Your father thought he killed her and he grew more furious than he ever had.

"The nine-tails cloak appeared with four tails. When six appeared the necklace's powers came into affect to tame the beast. Your father tore the necklace off of his neck and crushed it. He came close to becoming the Nine Tails, but he suddenly stopped. He told me his father came into his mind and saved him. After everything had calmed down, I went back to the field and found all the pieces I could. I intended to put the necklace back together, but I never did."

He watched the child's facial expression as she lightly moved the shards around with one finger. "If you want," Iruka began carefully as the girl moved her eyes up to look at him, "I'll let you piece it together and then you can keep it."

Himawari smiled at the thought. She closed the box and placed it back in the pocket. "Thank you, Grandpa."

Iruka shook his head at the title, but couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. "Anyways, what did you-"

 _Knock, knock, knock!_

"Iruka!" Naruto's voice called from the other side door. "I need to speak with you."

Before Iruka could finish saying, "Hold on for a moment," Himawari had grabbed her shoes, kissed her grandfather's cheek, and headed toward the back entrance.

"I'm gonna go to my aunt's," she acknowledged as she opened the door. "If he goes there, then I'll head to the Nara's."

Himawari closed the door as Iruka opened his. "What are you doing out in this weather, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly as he was let inside, but stayed by the entrance so the floor wouldn't get wet. "Himawari and I got into a little argument and she ran off."

"And you thought she would come here?"

Naruto rubbed the back of is neck nervously, the smile still there. "Well, when I was her age and I needed someone to talk to, I always went to you first. I just assumed she'd do the same. Sorry to have bothered you, Iruka. Good-night!"

* * *

Himawari walked out of the bathroom with the horrid orange sweatpants draped over her arm. "This is so much better!" Himawari had changed into a pair of pants that once belonged to her aunt. "Thank you, Aunt TenTen."

Tenten chuckled at the girl's antics. "You're welcome. So, what was the argument about?"

Himawari sighed as she sat on the chair in the small living room. "Dad said he was thinking about mission I could do, so I asked for ones in Suna so I could see Gaara and the others more since I only see them once a month."

"I'm guessing he said no."

"He thought I was talking about Shikadai," she explained. "Then he said he doesn't approve of us being a couple."

"You're dating the new Kazekage?"

"And that's why we wanted to keep it a secret." Himawari shook her head as a thought occurred to her. "The only reason we got together so soon was because of Boruto. He got tired of us being flirty with each other so he basically told Shikadai if he didn't ask me out soon, he would convince me not to like him. That's when Shikadai asked me out on our first date during the family day event."

"Himawari," Tenten chided carefully. "I think you might be over exaggerating a little bit. He might be being protective but doesn't want you to know it."

"So when he tells everyone I'm weak, he's just being protective?"

"Himawari!" Her aunt exclaimed as she stood up in anger. "Your father has not and will not call you weak! You are his daughter and he loves you a lot. Why would he call you weak when he stood up to your Uncle Neji when Neji called your mother weak during the Chunin Exams?"

"What?"

Tenten sighed in annoyance that she would have to explain something horrible about the girl's uncle knowing she heard nothing bad about him. "Before we could go to the third part of the exam, we had to go through elimination matches. Whoever won would go to the third part of the exam. Your mother and uncle had to fight each other. Your uncle insulted her, calling her weak. Your father yelled at Neji from the sidelines to shut up. He encouraged your mother to fight him, believing that she could beat him.

"Neji knocked her down and almost everyone believed the fight was over. When the referrer was about to announce Neji as the winner, your father yelled, 'No! Don't stop this match!' A moment later everyone watched your mother stand up, ready to fight again, but she did lose.

"In the third part of the Chunin Exam, your father and uncle fought against each other. Neji had asked, 'Why do you go against destiny so much?' Do you know what your father said?"

When Himawari shook her head Tenten quoted, "'Because, I was called a loser.' In the end your father won the fight."

Tenten collapsed into the chair as she held her face in her hand as she retold a painful event. "When Neji saved him from being killed during the war, Naruto asked, 'Why would you go so far for me!? Sacrificing yourself. . .' Neji-" Tenten bit back a sob. "Neji had told him, 'Because I was called a genius.'"

Himawari chose her next words carefully. "I didn't know-"

 _Knock, knock, knock!_ "Tenten!" Naruto's voice called from the other side of the door. "I need to ask you something."

"Crap!" Himawari whispered as she stood looking for an exit. "I have to get out of here."

Tenten wiped away the tear from her cheek. "Go through the back window and take the clothes with you so he doesn't suspect anything."

"Alright. Thank you, Aunt Tenten. I'll see you later!"

Himawari escaped out the window as Tenten collected herself before opening the door. "Make it quick, Naruto," she ordered as she wiped away another stray tear.

Naruto glanced around her and sighed when he didn't see his daughter. "Are you going to the celebration next mon-"

"No." Tenten denied immediately. "I decided a while back that I wasn't going."

"Are you sure?" He pursued. "Boruto and Hima wants you to go, especially Boruto. When it's brought up he goes on and on about how he wants you to go."

"I told you no, now leave!" She slammed the door in his face not caring about the retributions.

* * *

 ** _Done!_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	16. Chapter 16

**_Here is the next chapter!  
_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

 _Knock, kno-_

Shikamaru opened his front door and was quite surprised when Himawari appeared wearing her father's old slightly drenched jacket. Not bothering to ask the girl why she was there or why she was dressed that way, Shikamaru let her into his home. "I'm gonna guess you're gonna spend the night. I'll set up the guest room with Temari."

"Thank you." Himawari thanked as she was led into the living room. "I promise I won't be a hindrance."

"I know you won't." He waited for the girl to take a seat on the couch before continuing, "Shikadai's feeding the deer right now. He should be back in a few minutes. For now, if you need anything, we will be upstairs."

Himawari thanked him once again as he ascended up the stairs. As the time passed, Himawari slowly started to fall asleep. When she was to be completely unconscious, someone walked into the room and asked, "Himawari?"

She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head just as lightly. "Hi, Shikadai," she greeted with a small yawn.

Like his father previously did, Shikadai didn't ask her any questions. He just walked over to the couch and sat next to her. When he did, Himawari adjusted herself to where she was practically laying on him. She felt even more comfortable when he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. "You needed somebody to hold you?" He whispered in a joking manner.

Himawari only nodded her head as she went to peaceful sleep. Shikadai followed her example and fell into a light sleep. A few minutes went away when Shikamaru and his wife descended from the stairs. Noticing that his son was asleep, Temari shook his son awake. "Shikadai," she whispered as he cracked an eye open, "take Hima to the guest bedroom upstairs. If she wakes in time, she can help you with your morning chores if she wants to. You-know-who might show up to cause a little mischief."

Shikadai nodded tiredly as he stood from couch, lifting Himawari into his arms as he did so, and walked upstairs to the designated place. Shikadai walked inside the bedroom and laid her on the bed. However, when he tried to leave, Himawari grabbed his sleeve.

"Please stay, Shika," she muttered almost unclearly. "I don't want you to leave yet."

Shikadai kissed her forehead as he laid next to her on top of the covers. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."

Himawari nodded her head into his chest as she lulled to sleep. This put Shikadai into a tricky situation. He could leave but he'd probably wake her up again or he could stay in that comfortable position and go to sleep. The latter was chosen as his eyes were already drooping. "Good night, Hima."

* * *

The next morning, before the couple awoke, there was a knock on the livingroom door. Shikamaru answered, already knowing who it was. "She's in the guest room asleep. You can stay until she wakes up if you want to."

Naruto shook his head as he handed over the bag that was rested on his shoulder. "I only came by to drop off the clothes she let at Iruka's and her new phone."

"I'm guessing it's for the same reason Boruto has one?"

"You're right as always Shikamaru. I better go before she comes downstairs. I'll see you later. If she asks, it was Iruka, not me."

As soon as the door closed the two descended from the steps. Himawari let a yawn slipped as she asked, "Who was that?"

"Iruka." Shikamaru answered as he watched his son pull a seat out for Himawari before taking one himself. "He came by to drop off the clothes you left at his place. You can change after you eat. There's also a present from your dad in there for passing you're test."

Tilting her head in curiousity, Himawari leaned one arm over and dug through the bag until her hand came into contact with a small box. She grabbed it out and was quite surprised that it was a brand new cell phone with a sticky note attached to it. She pulled the note off so she can read it better.

 _"'I knew you would pass -Dad'."_ Himawari read in her head. _"What the hell? What's with the change?"_

"Is something wrong?"

Himawari glanced up at her boyfriend and shook her head no. She placed the box in the jacket pocket and decided to mess with it later. Instead she had a light conversation with Shikadai and his parents.

After a while everyone finished eating so Temari said, "If you get changed real quick Shikadai will let you a meet a friend of his." Himawari rushed upstairs to have only come back down a minute later with only her pants changed. "You're not changing jackets?"

The young girl blushed. Staring at the ground she explained bashfully, "I actually like it."

While the adults were laughing goodnaturely at her childlike behavior, Shikadai rushed her outside. "There is something you should know about my friend," he began as he led her deeper in the forest. "He is very childish and stubborn. He likes to challenge me to see who is stronger. Oh, and we also share the same name."

Himawari giggled into the palm of her hand. "So his name is 'Shikadai'?"

"Actually it's 'Fawn'." Shikadai corrected. "We were born on the same day, so Mom thought it was a good idea for us to have the same name. She usually calls me that when she wants me to do something, if she needs something, or we are in public and she needs to get my attention."

"So where is he?"

Shikadai stopped and glanced around the area. Catching his friend before he could hide, he pointed, "Over there, behind the trees. You can stop hiding, Fawn. There's someone I want you to meet."

Himawari looked at the same general area and gasped when Fawn walked out in the open. Turned out he was actually a giant thirteen-point deer. "When I was little, I used to sneak him into my bedroom," Shikadai confessed as Fawn stood beside him. "The only time I didn't get introuble for it was when it was our birthday."

"Fawn, this is Himawari, the girl I always talked about," he introduced. "Himawari, this is Fawn, my-uh, closests animal friend."

Fawn grunted and pawed at the ground which for some reason made Shikadai blush. "She's my _girlfriend_ , not my-oh never mind. Mom bought a few apples yesterday; if you go to the house and suck up to her she _might_ give you a couple."

Fawn bumped his head against Shikadai's shoulder before trotting to the house. When the deer was out of hearing range Himawari asked, "You speak deer?"

"It's an old Nara trait. My dad was the first one in a while to get it and then when I was born I got it."

About half an hour passed by and after Shikadai had finished filling the last feeder Himawari began hesitantly, "Do...do you happen to remember where-"

"The memory lake is at?" Shikadai finished for her as walked over to the shed to put the empty bag of feed in the trashcan inside before facing her. "I was wondering when you were going to ask. Follow me."

* * *

 ** _So I don't have to write their entrance into the lake, the next chapter will start in the lake. In the next chapter Himawari will also realize what is going on._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	17. Chapter 17

**_This chapter is early because I want to get to a certain "arc" next week. You will get a chapter on Friday so it is possible._**

 ** _It is also dedicated to Guest who reviewed last chapter. All I have to say is thank you for your compliment._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _Enjoy._**

* * *

"I have a couple questions."

Shikadai adverted his gaze from one of the memory bubbles to look up at the girl who's lap he was laying his head on. "Go ahead," he encouraged, noticing how she plays with his unbounded hair more when she got nervous.

"First, why do you keep your hair down when I'm around? I heard from a couple people you take it out of your ponytail whenever you hear or see me coming toward you."

"That's because you had once told me, very embarrassingly, that you liked it when I had my hair down. Having a crush on you, I kept it down around you so you'd like me a little more." He smiled when he saw he made her blush. He kissed the hand that was lightly petting his cheek. "Next?"

"When did you realize you had feelings for me?"

Instead of giving a verbal answer, he pointed at a bubble that was coming closer to them. "The bubble will explain everything."

 _A young Shikadai was standing next to Boruto along with his other classmates outside of the school waiting for the next lesson to begin. Everyone would be partnered up to have a little sparring match so Shino can see how much they have improved on their taijutsu. While one of the groups were going, Shikadai heard one of three of his classmates behind him, who was known for bullying, whisper to the other two, "Look who's coming, the Byakugan Monster."_

 _Shikadai changed his gaze to where the bully was gesturing to. Turned out it was his mother walking to the class while holding the young Himawari's hand. The little girl noticed that a few students were starting to notice them, so she used her other hand to wipe away the stray tears and put on a brave fake smile as they got closer to the group._

 _Once they got within hearing range, Temari called, "Shino, I need to have a word with you about two or three students of yours."_

 _Shino agreed, but he knelt to Himawari's height and asked, "Why don't you spar with someone who hasn't gone yet? I heard from your mother you've been practicing on your taijutsu." Himawari nodded her head as Shino stood back up to speak with his students, "Who wants to spar with Himawari until I finish talking with Mrs. Nara?"_

 _"I'll do it!" Boruto eagerly volunteered. The reason he wanted to spar with her is because he knew she would be more comfortable with him. Shino disagreed though since Boruto already went._

 _Shikadai then raised his hand and said, "I can spar with her so the teams aren't uneven and I will have to leave when you get done talking with my mom anyways."_

 _Shino agreed to that and the two adults walked out of hearing distance before they started their conversation. Shikadai and Boruto instructed Himawari on the basic rules of sparring; don't go outside the white circle and the sparring ends after someone gets very hurt._

 _As the couple got into the circle, Shikadai hesitated before saying, "You can use your Byakugan if you want to. I know you've been practicing with it."_

 _Himawari shook her head stubbornly as she stared at the ground. "They make fun of me because of it. I don't wanna be called a monster."_

 _Shikadai knelt to her height and tilted her chin up so she would look at him. "They are jealous," he deduced in a whisper immediately. "They are just mad because they don't have beautiful eyes like yours." Himawari blushed but Shikadai only continued, "The next time those bullies call you names, go get Boruto and me. We won't them call our Byakugan Princess a monster."_

 _Her blush grew even more as he got up from the ground. He got into fighting position as he asked her, "Are you ready?"_

 _Himawari nodded her head. She activated her Byakugan and got into the traditional Hyuga fighting position. "Ready!"_

* * *

The bubble burst as the memory ended. Shikadai looked at Himawari to see her reaction. Like she was in the memory, her whole face was red with a blush. She noticed her boyfriend was looking at her with amusement so she turned her head away so he couldn't see her face. As she did, she saw a memory bubble that had her father in his office talking to Shikadai's dad.

"Is there anyway for that to come closer?" She questioned Shikadai while she pointed at the object. As if it heard her, the bubble came closer and replayed the memory for the couple.

 _Naruto had his hands folded on his desk as he contemplated his plan. Shikamaru voiced his question before Naruto could get so far in thought, "Why exactly do you want to give the Akatsuki a second chance?"_

 _"Everyone hated me as a kid because I had Kurama inside of me," he began his explanation. "Eventually they gave me a second chance. I used to hate Kurama because he's the reason why everyone hated me, but I eventually forgave him and now him and I are really close."_

 _"What does-"_

 _"Kurama and I were given a second chance. I want the Akatsuki to be given that same opportunity."_

 _"And your daughter-"_

 _"Is perfect for the job because she is kind hearted and sees the good in everyone before she sees the bad."_

 _Shikamaru shook his head in amusement. "For once I think you're right. But do you really think she will believe that you said she is weak?"_

 _"No," Naruto argued. "No matter what is said she will suspect something else is going on and won't stop until she solves it."_

The memory ended abruptly and instead of exploding, the bubble only moved in the far back of the others. Shikadai sat up as Himawari stood quickly. "I have to go talk to him," she insisted as she rushed off to the exit.

* * *

"Himawari?" Naruto asked as his daughter walked into his office and closed the door behind her. He walked to the front of his desk as she came closer to her. "What are you doing here and why are you wearing my old jacket?"

Instead of answering him, she hugged her father. "I knew it was a lie," she said as she leaned her head on his chest. "I knew you could never called me weak. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you and ran away from home. I should have asked you why you were doing it. I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Naruto kissed the top of his daughter's head. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

Himawari smiled as she hugged him tighter. "Deal."

* * *

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	18. Chapter 18

**_Okay, I'm adding this chapter earlier than I said so I can finish this story as quick as I can. From now on I'm adding chapters as I finish them so that is possible. From the way I have this story planned there is only about five to six chapters left not including this chapter._**

 ** _Anyways, it's a Boruto chapter with a little Sarada at the end!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _Enjoy._**

* * *

A month has passed since Himawari and Naruto made up with each other. On this day a celebration was taking place. It was the anniversary of the war ending and the five villages agreed to throw a party for it. The party was held in the woods in the Leaf Village territory because the Kage agreed that it had better weather conditions than the other villages.

Everyone was mingling around, but as more people started to show Boruto started to get upset. He walked over to his mother who was talking with Temari. "Have you seen Aunt Tenten?" He asked her as he continued to around the crowd for her. "I'd invited her, but I don't see her yet."

The mothers shared a look before Hinata answered, "She's not coming."

"Why?"

Hinata sighed, not liking that she'd have to explain something so painful. "She decided a while back that she wouldn't go to any events that dealt with the war. It just reminds her of something that happened."

Boruto waited for his mother to continue, but she never did. Boruto thought for a moment or two before asking, "Can I leave the party for a few minutes?"

"Yes-"

"But," Temari interrupted, "you have to do us a favor." She pointed to her son and Himawari, who were in their own separate world from the others of the party. "Remind them that if they want their relationship to be a secret, they need to stop flirting with each other and talk with someone else that isn't them. They hadn't said a word to anyone else since the party began."

Boruto immediately walked toward the two, whispered something, and then walked away. Himawari blushed, looked around the crowd, spotted Gaara, and rushed over to him to give him a hug. Meanwhile Shikadai walked to the mothers with a small blush on his face.

"What did Boruto say to you two?" Hinata questioned.

Shikadai cleared his throat as his face got redder, "Well, he told Himawari, 'Stop looking at each him like that. If you want to do something naughty with him, get a room first.' "

Temari laughed so loudly it was most likely everyone in the village could hear her.

* * *

"Why didn't you come to the party?" Boruto asked his aunt who was laying on the couch across from him.

She kept her eyes on the ceiling as she stated, "I didn't want to be reminded of a broken promise."

"What promise?"

Tenten sighed but she went ahead with the long explanation, "Well, your uncle and I were thirteen, we started dating in secret because we knew that the clan would disprove. The only one that knew about our relationship was your mother. After dating for about five years we took the next step in our relationship; I got pregnant with a little girl.

"A handful of months passed and Hiashi found out about me being pregnant and had a private conversation with me while Neji was helping your mother train. He told me that I had two options. I could keep my baby girl and the clan could kill Neji by his curse mark or I could have an abortion and Neji would live. Since I loved Neji so much I chose the latter. I lied to Hinata and said it was a miss-carriage."

"After I got the abortion, I couldn't stop crying. Neji had knelt down on his knees and held my hand as he said, 'I promise, after the was is over, we will get married and have another child. This time I won't let anything happen to him or her.' "

Silent tears began to fall from Tenten's face as she continued, "He never got to fulfill his promise because he saved your father at the cost of his life. After the war ended, we had his funeral. He was laid next to his father and, unknowing to others, his baby girl. They didn't know because she didn't have her name on her tombstone. When they buried his coffin, I broke. I fell on my knees and began to cry my heart out. I stayed a good three hours after the funeral ended.

"That's why I don't go to any celebration for the war ending, because, to me, it felt like it didn't."

Boruto stayed quiet as he watched his strong aunt cry. Finally he asked, "What was her name, your daughter's?"

Tenten laughed for a moment as she wiped away her tears. Turning her head with a smile she said, "It was Himawari. Your mom asked me if she could name your little sister that and I agreed. Now every time I see your sister, I get a little bit choked up because I always think, 'My baby girl would have been just like her.'"

Silence entered the room, so Boruto begged, "Please come to the party with me. I promise you won't regret it."

"No," Tenten denied. "I don't want to run into Hiashi."

"Who says we will?"

"Who says we won't?"

"I'll make a deal with you," Boruto bargained. "You come to the party with me as my date and if we see Hiashi, I'll just expose him for the bastard he is."

"Boruto, he's your grandfather-"

"We don't have the same blood so technically he's not."

Tenten shook her head as she got herself off the couch. "Alright, let's go then."

* * *

The two arrived at the party, but everyone had stared at them because they were the 'last ones' to arrive. They continued toward Hinata, Temari, Ino, and Sakura, who were all sitting at one of the many picnic tables, despite the constant looks. Tenten nervously sat down next to Hinata and Boruto sat on the other side of Tenten as they entered their conversation.

Not even ten minutes had passed before the person Tenten never wanted to see again decided to greet his 'daughter'. He even had the audacity to greet Tenten which made Boruto furious because of how uncomfortable Tenten was feeling. He got up and stood on the seat as he tried to intimidate Hiashi.

"Leave," he ordered.

Hiashi rose an eyebrow in curiosity as he said, "Well, why should I? I have every right to be here as much as you do, child."

"Like you had the right to threaten your nephew's life and your would have been great niece?"

"Boruto, what are you-"

"He threaten to kill Uncle Neji, Mom." Boruto argued with his mother. "He told Aunt Tenten that if she didn't abort Baby Hima, he would have Neji killed by his curse mark."

Hinata was shocked about the information. At first she considered that he was lying to her, but she knew her son wouldn't make something up about the person he admired since he was little. She turned her head to her adopted father, "How could you do something so cruel?"

"It was for the sake of my clan!"

"Was that the same reason you took me in? For the sake of _your_ clan?" When Hiashi didn't answer, Hinata stood in defiance next to her son. "I believe my son told you to leave and if you don't listen to him, the both of us will escort you to the exit."

Instead of arguing with them, Hiashi walked to the exit, not once turning his head back.

* * *

An hour and two passed since that event and Sarada had finally arrived by herself. Her father had to leave in a hurry because he had to check something out. She no longer wore he glasses because her dad gave her a pair of contacts that will let her use her Sharingan without it breaking.

She stayed by Boruto's side as the two listened to the ladies, excluding her mother, tell the story of how they thought Sakura had amnesia but it turned out she was from a different universe. The story was interrupted when they heard Sakura say, "So when did you decide to talk to me again?" The group adverted their gaze to Sakura and it turned out she was talking to her parents who stopped talking to her after she married Sasuke. The the get into a huge argument (again) about Sakura marrying Sasuke who refuses to stay in the village. Her parents believe that he's having an affair with someone outside the village. Finally Itachi, who heard them arguing, butted in the conversation to defend his little brother.

Sarada nudged Boruto, who broke his gaze to speak to his girlfriend properly. "Do you know where Itachi's been staying?" she whispered.

"With your mother," he answered back in the same volume. "I heard from Dad he's paying rent and he even gave her enough money to actually buy a small house."

"So I'm guessing they already moved in all of our stuff?"

"I think they finished yesterday."

Sarada stretched her arms as she stood abruptly. "I guess I'll go put a show on for my grandparents."

She kissed her boyfriend's cheek before running to her mother to give her a hug. Sakura stops talking to kiss her daughters head and hugged her back before asking, "So how was the stay with your father?"

Sarada talked for a couple minutes about the new jutsu she learned as the other three stop arguing with her to listen. Sarada stopped suddenly, looked up at her grandparents in confusion, and asked, "Mom, who are they?"

Sakura's mother got upset and explained that they were her grandparents. "Don't you remember us?"

Sarada shook her head and said, "No, I'd think I would remember someone who says and makes horrible assumptions about my dad!"

The two have a staring/glaring competition. Soon Sarada said, not breaking though, "You can leave whenever you want. That won't stop me from not talking to you again until you say you were wrong about my dad."

* * *

 ** _Done!_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	19. Chapter 19

**_I got an amazing idea after watching the full Romeo and Juliet play off of The Fosters, but it won't show up in this chapter._**

 ** _Here is the chapter!  
_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _Enjoy._**

* * *

A few months passed since the party in fall. It was now the beginning of spring and Shikadai had turned 16, meaning he had to spend one less day during the week in Konoha. The couple ended up developing a routine. They would call each other in the morning to wish them a good morning and they'd call each other at night to wish them a good night.

However, one day the routine was broken. Shikadai didn't call Himawari at the usually time. She stayed up passed midnight before she gave up the thought of him calling. When morning came and her alarm went off, she waited for her phone to ring like it usually does when her alarm goes silent. Her phone didn't make a sound.

Being overcome with worry, Himawari threw her covers off of her bed, got dressed for the day, and rushed out the door to the Hokage's office to speak to her father.

"I'm sure he is alright." Naruto encouraged. "He probably had a long meeting and probably over-slept."

"That happened before though," Himawari argued as she continued to pace back and forth to calm herself down. "But he texts me five minutes afterwards to apologize for not calling and promises to when call during his lunch break. He didn't do it this time. I think he's in trouble"

Naruto leaned back his chair in an unconcerned sigh. "If you are really worried about him, I'll let you go to Suna to see what's going on. If something bad did happen, I want you to send me a message about what you find out. I'll send a couple squads to assist you if necessary."

She gave her dad a hug and a kiss on the cheek before running as fast as she could out of the room to get to Suna. Shikamaru walked into the room a moment later and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"She thinks something's wrong with your son," Naruto answered honestly to his friend as he began to write a request on a scroll. "I let her go on ahead, but I'm going to send a message to a couple _people_ that I know will be in her area to help her if needed."

"Don't tell me it's-"

"It is them, but they are perfect for the job," Naruto argued. "If they do one wrong thing on the mission, I'll let you kill them."

"Deal."

* * *

Three painstaking hours later Himawari arrived at the border of Suna. As she was about to take a step inside, a voice shouted in warning, "I wouldn't step inside if I was you, unless you want to be trapped like us, un."

Two people jumped down from the rocky edge to reveal Deidara and Sasori. "What do you mean by trapped?" Himawari asked as they stood up to full height a couple feet away from her.

"A few criminals found their way into the village," Sasori answered as though it was no big deal. "The kidnapped Shikadai and placed a jutsu on the village to where none of us can leave or contact any other villages."

Himawari shook her head in disbelief. "I knew something was wrong. Tell me, do you know where the criminals are from?"

"The Hidden Cloud Village." Deidara pointed in the general direction that it's at. "If you head in that direction for a few hours you should get there."

Himawari nodded her head as she finished a text to her father. Placing her phone in her pocket, she announce, "Dad's going to send some people to help break the jutsu. I'm gonna go ahead and see if I can help or save Shikadai."

"Good luck. You'll need it."

* * *

A few hours passed when Himawari reached the outskirts of the before she was blind-folded and kidnapped. About an hour passed when Himawari was taken to the prison cell with one of her arms chained to a wall. When the blind-fold was torn off her face, she was able to see that the cell across from her held her beloved boyfriend, whom was breathing heavily for some reason.

She waited for the criminals to leave before asking Shikadai, "How did they kidnap you?"

He took in a deep breath to calm his breathing and then explained, "They got me while I was sleeping. When I woke up, they held a kunai to my throat and said if I did anything against them, they would either kill me or destroy Suna. Not wanting to take a chance, I did nothing, but that was until I heard they kidnapped you."

"What did they do to you that made you so weak?"

"It's the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison imprisonment jutsu. I learned the hard way that it prevents you from using chakra."

"Heavenly Prison." Himawari repeated. She leaned her head against the stone wall and looked up at the ceiling in wonderment. "Where have I heard that before?"

" **Your father told you a story that involved that jutsu,** " a voice in her head explained. " **You had nightmares about it when you were a child so he never spoke a word about it again**."

" _Kurama!_ " Himawari exclaimed happily in her mind. " _I haven't heard from you in a while. So what is this Heavenly Prison jutsu?"_

" **It prevents you from using any kind of normal chakra. Nature chakra is the only kind that can get pass this jutsu, but it will be difficult if you don't have an irregular amount of chakra like you, your brother, and your father**."

" _How are we supposed to break the jutsu?"_

" **I suggest you store up your chakra to create a shadow clone of your father. The clone won't have the jutsu on him and he can kill the one who placed the jutsu on you two.** "

" _Why does he have to die?_ "

" **That's the only way to stop the jutsu. I'll tell your father about everything that's happened but I don't think I can speak to you again until the jutsu is gone.** "

"Alright," Himawari said aloud as she moved her gaze to the cell door. "I'll see you soon, Kurama."

* * *

" **Hey! Naruto!** "

Naruto looked down at his desk and closed his eyes as he asked the demon in his mind, " _What is it Kurama? I'm waiting for Himawari to send me a report."_

" **She can't because Suna is placed under a jutsu. They can't contact anybody outside of the village and anyone that goes inside or is inside is trapped. She almost went inside but the two ex-Akatsuki members stopped her before she could. She did send you one but I guess it didn't go through since she was on the village border.** "

" _Where is she now?_ "

" **Somewhere in the Hidden Cloud Village. Criminals from that village kidnapped Shikadai and he couldn't do anything to escape because they said they would destroy Suna. The two are in locked up in prison cells across from each other. They have the Heavenly Prison jutsu placed on them.** "

" _How do you know all of this?_ "

" **I'll explain it to you some other day, but right now you need form a few squads to go save your daughter.** "

Naruto stood from his desk and shouted, "Shikamaru! Get me the strongest squads we have available. We have a S rank rescue mission that needed to be completed hours ago!"

* * *

 ** _Done with this chapter! Next one will be up as soon as possible._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	20. Chapter 20

**_Here is the next chapter!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

 ** _Enjoy._**

* * *

There was no way to tell how much time has passed since the couple has been locked in the cell. They've stored up as much chakra as they could before fire started to spark. At one point Himawari had started coughing blood which stopped her from trying anymore.

Some time afterwards two of the guards forced them out of their cells. They were forcefully pulled to the liar where the supposed leader of the criminal group was at. The two were pushed onto their knees with their hands tied behind their back as they looked at the leader.

The leader smirked viciously as he grabbed Himawari's chin to tilt her head up. "Those eyes," he marveled. "Is it true they hold both the Byakugan and the Sharingan?"

"Break that jutsu of yours and you'll find out."

The leader grew angry and threw her chin down causing her head to jerk down sharply. Out of no where he grabbed a whip and held it up in the air. As he moved it down in an attempt to hurt Himawari, Shikadai got between the two with his back taking the attack. It had torn through his clothes and scratched his skin causing it to grow red.

"Oh!" The leader said in feigned amazement. "So the Kazekage wants to protect his beloved girlfriend? Guards! Remove his jacket and shirt and have him on his knees when you chain him to the wall. I will give him a reason to never protect her again."

One of the guards grabbed Shikamaru by his chained hands and threw him against the wall that was a few feet away. While they were in the process of chaining him, Himawari struggled to her and attempted to go to him. She was stopped when the leader grabbed her by her long thick hair.

"Such beautiful hair," the leader admired as he held it tighter causing Himawari to scream for a moment in pain. "I wonder how much people would pay for a lock or two."

He threw the whip to the guard and said, "Keep going until I say stop."

"No!" Himawari yelled as the guard proceeded to whip the Nara. To prevent himself from screaming and shouting in pain, Shikadai bit his lip so he couldn't give them pleasure in his agony. Minutes passed by and only small groans escaped his lips as he got lashed.

"Stop it!" Himawari repeatedly screamed at the guard, whom continued the onslaught. To keep her from making so much noise, the leader grabbed more of her hair and held it tighter. Himawari sobbed, "I'm begging you, please stop hurting him."

The leader only laughed menacingly. "Why would I want to stop something I love so much?"

All of a sudden a scythe-like object was thrown passed the whip and jerked back all of a sudden. When it jerked back it managed to grab the whip, effectively taking it out of the guard's hand. The leader let his hold on Himawari's hair slacken for a moment in shock. In that same moment the scythe reappeared and in one swift movement cut her hair so short the blade almost scrapped her neck. The leader fell to the ground because of the momentum.

Once she felt that the hold was gone, Himawari rushed over to Shikadai's side and attempted to free him from his bonds. The guard who was admitting the attack brought out a kunai and raised it high above his head. Out of nowhere a stranger appeared and kicked him in the rib. The force of it pushed him to the wall on the other side of the room and knocked him unconscious.

"Somebody call for a rescue?" The stranger questioned sarcastically.

Himawari, who had her back to the stranger, sighed in relief but didn't falter in what she was doing. "Thank God, it's you Hidan. Where's Kakuzu?"

Hidan rested his three-bladed scythe on his shoulder as he answered, "He's dealing with the criminals outside." Noticing that the girl was having trouble with the chains, he broke it with his weapon in ease. "Here's my question, why didn't you two use any jutsus to escape."

"We have one on us that prevents us from doing so," Shikadai explained in between gasps as he rubbed his sore wrist. With the help of Hidan, he stood unstably. "The only way it will break is if we kill the leader."

An explosion outside caused the building to shake. The cieling started to break apart and Himawari had to jump away from the boys or else she would have gotten hit. However, when she jumped back, she was once again held captive by the leader, a kunai to her throat. At that same moment two squads from Konoha busted from the walls being led by Shikamaru and Mirai Sarutobi, Asuma's daughter.

The leader held the blade closer to the girl's neck to where it was almost digging into the skin. "If anyone takes a single step, I'll slit this girl''s throat."

Shikadai forced Hidan to let go of his hold on him and stared straight into his girlfriend's big beautiful blue eyes. "Himawari."

"Yes, Shikadai?" She asked carefully so the blade couldn't cut her.

"Do you love me?"

Her heart skipped a beat as she immediately answered, "Of course I love you."

Shikadai placed both hands on his abused and bloody back as he continued, "Then promise me and yourself that you won't be afraid of me after I do this." Barely acknowledging her nod, he slammed his hands on the ground. "Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu, 1000 Shadowy Monsters!"

"What?" Shikamaru exclaimed. He turned to his son to warn him. "Shikadai, that jutsu is-"

Shikamaru didn't finish his statement as shadows came up from the ground and turned into monsters. While that process was going on, Shikadai's body was slowly going aflame and his eyes turning a midnight black. Monsters grew around the leader and Himawari. A couple of them wrapped themselves around the arm that held the kunai and attached themselves to the other shadows so the arm was forced away from Himawari. They did the same to the other and Himawari was free for good.

Himawari ran from the leader as Shikadai, whose body was now entirely burning from the fire, ordered the monsters, "Kill him!"

Without a second thought, for they had none, they did the deed. The jutsu placed on the couple was now broken and the flame had disappeared. Having grown weak, the Summoning Justu also vanquished and Shikadai fainted from the pain.

"Shikadai!" Himawari cried while Hidan caught him before he could hit the ground. She placed a hand on his cheek and noticed how extremely warm and pale they were. "We have to get him into the village."

"But there's no village around," Mirai argued as she came over to assist the situation. "We are no where near the Hidden Cloud Village, if that's what you were thinking. We are probably two hours away from Suna, but there are no guarentees-"

"Then we will just have to get him there in less time then," Hidan retorted as he placed one of Shikadai's arm around his shoulder so he can hold him better. "Kakuzu!" In less than a second his partner appeared through the broken wall with one hand around a man's throat. Hidan gestured to the Kazekage. "Take him to the Sand Village and I'll deal with the rest of them."

Instead of arguing with him, Kakuzu turned around so Hidan could move Shikadai to his back. Keeping one hand on Kakuzu's shoulder so he wouldn't move, Hidan removed his old Akatsuki cloak and placed it on Shikadai so it would cover his bloody back. When Hidan was no longer touching him, Kakuzu rushed out of the unstable building and headed toward Suna.

"By the time you get there, Shikadai will already be in the hospital," Hidan reassured Himawari and Shikamaru. "I'll deal with the rest of these crooks so you don't have to worry about it."

"And let you have all the fun?" Mirai assumed. "No way, I want to help."

"Mirai, you don't know who he is." Shikamaru argued with his, at one time, student. "He-"

"He helped save your son," she finished as she pulled out her father's chakra blades. "That's all I need to know." She and her squad went to the other room to deal with the outlaws in there.

Hidan, who was looking at where the lady was just at, hesitated before asking, "Is she. . .?"

"She's Asuma's only daughter." Shikamaru answered the unfinished question bitterly.

With a sigh, Hidan rested his scythe on his shoulder. "Then I better make sure she doesn't get hurt or killed then." With that being said he ran after the girl to assist her in battle.

* * *

 ** _Done with this exciting chapter!_**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	21. Chapter 21

**_I'm sorry for this chapter being so late in the day. I didn't work on it much yesterday because I wasn't feeling well. I did work on it during class but I didn't get much done._**

 ** _Oh! Remember in the first chapter where I did that little rant about that essay? (He did change my grade on it after I fixed something). Well, I won first place for my class in that Fleet Reserve contest! That was the first time I ever placed in that and I got first! I also won thirty dollars from it!_**

 ** _Sorry, I wanted to brag about myself._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song lyrics used in this chapter._**

 ** _Enjoy._**

* * *

Himawari and Shikamaru's squad finally made to Suna in under two hours. Instead of telling why she was there like Shikamaru was doing at the gates, she ran passed it and into the village. Shikamaru called after her, but it was like talking to a deaf man. She ran until she made it to the hospital and even then she charged through the doors to find her Shikadai.

In a matter of seconds she found his room. Even though they put Hidan's cloak on top of him to keep his body covered, the bandages they used to cover the wounds on his back still showed through a little. He looked better than he did, but, by the way he was laying on his stomach with a blank yet concentrating look on his face, it appeared as though he was trying to keep himself alive.

Himawari silently went to his bedside, sat in the chair next to it, and held his hand. Every few minutes a tear would drip from her cheek, but she didn't make any sounds that she was crying or weeping. Leaning against the doorway, Shikamaru shook his head disappointingly. "That's why that jutsu is forbidden. It immobilizes the users for a set amount of time, depending on how much chakra they use. The user has no control over the thing they summon. It doesn't help that the Heavenly Prison jutsu was placed on him."

"Thing?" Himawari asked softly without moving her gaze. "You mean. . . something else could have been summoned?"

"It depends on the amount of strength the user has. I'm just glad he's alive, but he might be in a coma for little a bit."

"How long?"

"A week or two. Knowing him, he'll try to wake up at soon as possible so he can see you again." When the comment didn't get a reaction from Himawari, Shikamaru sighed. "I'll go talk to Gaara and Kankuro. I'll see what they want to do now that Shikadai's here." He left the room without a word, leaving Himawari with only her thoughts.

About half an hour passed by when there was a knock on the door. Without asking for permission, it opened to reveal Naruto without his official Hokage outfit on. "Himawari?" he asked gently as he walked through the doorway. He stopped beside her as he continued, "Are you okay?" She shook her head with a sniff. "Will you tell me why not?"

She hesitated before answering with her voice going quieter as she does, "I'm losing my Shikadai."

Naruto placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, to which she put her other hand on, before changing the subject, "So what in the world happened to your hair?"

Himawari giggled, though it appeared to be fake. "Hidan had to cut it so I could get away from the leader of the group. He had it wrapped tightly around his hand so I wouldn't move. Do you think Boruto will hate it?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. We will have to wait and see."

A thought occurred to Himawari. "What happened to Kakuzu? I wanted to tell him thank you."

"He's at the Kazekage's mansion with the others. He apologized to Shikamaru for what happened in the past."

"Did Shikamaru forgive him?"

"Yes."

"Will he forgive Hidan for killing Asuma?"

"Honestly Hima, I have no idea. It just depends how well he pleads his case." Naruto patted her shoulder before retracting his hands. "I have to return to the village. I'm afraid someone will find out the me in the office is a clone."

"Can I stay in Suna until Shika wakes up?"

"Sure, but I think his mother will be here soon to check on him."

"...Okay."

About an hour later, Temari and Hinata was walking down the hall looking for Shikadai's room. After a minute or two they finally came to the door. Before Temari placed her hand on the door knob, Hinata stopped her. "Wait," she insisted with a whisper, "do you hear that?"

From the room, they heard a beautiful voice sing softly, " _We are nothing without each other, when it's said and done. We are oceans crashing together, but the storm is on the run. We are madness. We are beauty. We're our own redemption. Can't let these walls, come between us. Our hearts will bleed as one."_

"Isn't that the song from that play they watched on TV a while back?" Hinata questioned. "The one that we walked in on them watching and Hima paused because she was embarrassed?"

Temari shrugged, not really remembering as Himawari continued with the song, not knowing there was an audience listening to her. " _We live because we love. We love because we belong. Yes, I swear. Oh, you healed the scars, and never felt a wound. And we'll never need their rules, to guide they way. Love will light the day."_ Himawari's voice broke off at the last note and she began to sob uncontrollably. That's when the mother's took the cue of them needing to come in.

They walked in on the sight of Himawari crying in her hands by Shikadai's beside who had no signs of waking up soon. "Oh, poor Hima," Hinata cooed sadly.

Himawari looked up abruptly. Once she caught eye of her mother, she ran quickly over to her and practically tackled her into a hug, rubbing her face into her shoulder as she began to cry her heart out. Hinata brushed her fingers through her hair while Temari momentarily took Himawari's place by her son. "What happened to your beautiful hair?" Hinata wondered.

Hima sniffed as she cried, "Hidan cut it with his scythe after he used it to steal the whip from the guard so he'd stop hurting Shikadai. There was nothing I could do to help him. I was useless!"

"Look at me, Hima." Her daughter look at her with blood-shot eyes. "People used to call me useless all the time when I was a child. When Pain came to destroy Konoha, your father arrived to stop him, but he was immobilized. So I went out on the battlefield and basically challenged Pain. After confessing my love to your father, the first thing I did was try to free him.

"I kept getting knocked away from him. At that time I hadn't gotten that much stronger since I was a kid, so I was lucky when I was able to land a hit on him. I used that opportunity to try to save your father from the binds that were on him. Pain knocked me away and I crawled back to your father.

"He told me to leave because it was useless. I told him, 'I don't go back on my word because that is also my ninja way.' Pain knocked me away again and when I landed by him it, from your father's perspective, it looked like he stabbed me to where it looked like he killed me. Your father went beserk and the Nine-Tails was released due to his anger.

"After that event everyone stopped calling me useless, instead they called me brave." Hinata kissed the top of Himawari's head once she finished the story. "Don't you ever say you are useless again or else I'm going to ground you from seeing Gaara the next time there is a meeting in Konoha."

Himawari laughed, which was her first genuine one since she left home to help Shikadai.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Kazekage's mansion, Hidan and Mirai had returned after dealing with the criminals and promising not to mention what happened there. However, only Shikamaru was in the lounge room because the others was in the office hearing Kakuzu's story of what happened. "So how is Shikadai?" Mirai asked as she slowly sat in one of the chairs, her muscles being sore from the traveling and the intense fighting. "Has he woken up yet?"

Shikamaru shook his head worriedly. "According to Temari, he's still in a coma and Hima hasn't left his room since she arrived. But Kakuzu did get him there in time because the medic nins were able to stop the bleeding before his back got infected."

Hidan, who leaned himself against the wall asked, "So have you forgiven him for what we, I mean, what I did because technically he had no part of it."

Shikamaru sighed in annoyance. "Yes I did because he did hurry his ass here so my son could be healed."

"Well then I guess I should do my part." Hidan pushed himself off the wall, went down on his, bowed his head, and apologized. "I'm truly sorry for what I did. If I had known that he was going to be a father I would have never even fought him because it goes against what I believe. Can you find it in your heart to forgive?"

Shikamaru thought it over for a few minutes before concluding, "Yes, I do forgive you because you did save my son from being killed."

Hidan sighed in relief as he stood from the ground. After Mirai left to check on her old play-time friend, the room a moment of silent Shikamaru asked, "Does she know that-"

"She found out while we were fighting those crooks," Hidan answered immediately. "She didn't seem mad though and she doesn't even hate me for it."

"By they way you're talking about her, it sounds like you got a thing for her."

"...I think I might."

* * *

Days passed by and Shikadai hasn't woken up yet or showed any signs. The nins changed his bandages every other day and they didn't seem to mind that Himawari was there to watch. Every day someone from the mansion would bring Hima food since she wouldn't leave the room for anything. On the first day, the nins had brought in an extra bed for her to sleep in which made Himawari thank them effusively.

One day, Himawari kissed his hand and squeezed it tightly as she begged, and even began to cry a bit, "Shikadai, _please, w_ ake up! I know you are fighting as hard as you can, but I _need_ you to fight even harder. I've been waiting for what feels like forever by your side and I'm starting to lose hope. _Please_ , give me a sign that you can hear me. I _can't_ lose you. I...I love you, Shikadai."

Himawari waited for a few moments in silence before closing her eyes in despair. At that moment she felt the hand in her squeezed hers. She opened her eyes immediately in surprise to see Shikadai's slightly open. Weakly, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I love you too, my beautiful princess," he struggled to say.

Tears spilled from Himawari's eyes as she kissed him in relief, to which he wiped away with his thumb. Shikamaru, who was watching the whole scene unfold, said, "I'm glad to see you awake, Fawn."

The couple pulled away and Shikadai tried to look at him from where he was. "How long. . . . have I been out?" he asked and he almost blacked out in the process of saying it.

"A day over two weeks," his father answered. He gestured to the girl by his side. "Himawari didn't leave this room once."

Shikadai turned his head to his beloved girlfriend. "Thank you, Hima."

"Why don't you get some more rest?" Shikamaru suggested. "I need to talk to Himawari anyways."

Himawari nodded nervously. With a parting kiss, she followed Shikamaru out of the room.

* * *

After a few minutes of no talking, they made it to the roof of the Kazekage's mansion where the sunflowers and desert roses were still planted. But, on the way there the people on the streets would stop her to thank her for saving their Kazekage. She would get flustered and tell them they were welcome, though she felt like she did nothing to help him. Once they were on the roof, Shikamaru announced, "I have a mission for you."

Himawari became alarmed because she didn't want to leave when Shikadai just woke up but she timidly asked anyways, "What is it?"

Shikamaru chuckled and turned himself around to face Himawari, his hands in pockets as he said, "You are to keep an eye on Shikadai when I go back to Konoha. I want you to make sure he doesn't do anything that opens the wounds on his back or puts any strain on him. If he starts stressing about his Kazekage duties, I want you to take him away from the office and make him relax. As payment you get to be around your boyfriend all day. Think you can do the job?"

"Yes!" Himawari exclaimed happily and hugged him because she couldn't resist it. "Thank you, Shikamaru!"

With another laugh, he hugged the young Uzumaki. "You are very welcome!"

* * *

 ** _This chapter is so freaking long! I didn't want to cut it off because I didn't want to have another chapter of this 'arc'._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading._**

 ** _Please review!_**


	22. Chapter 22

**_Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

A month has passed since Shikadai had woken up from his coma. Him and Himawari have been stuck to each other like glue. Everywhere they went, they went to together. They had even started sleeping in the same bed. One day when only them and Deidara and Sasori were at the mansion, Sasori started teasing her about it. He even asked her if she preferred sleeping with him than the guest room that she was provided for her.

She had made the comeback, "Yeah, it's way better than listening to you and Dei go at it all night in the room next door." The two's faces went bright red and Shikadai busted up laughing.

Anyways, Himawari and Shikadai were finally returning to Konoha because he had decided not to go back until his back was mostly healed. About ten minutes from the Konoha gates, Himawari started to get noticed which Shikadai called her out on. "Well, Boruto hasn't seen me since my hair got cut," she began bashfully. "He didn't like it when I mentioned the thought of cutting it. He throws a fit about it because he loves mine and Mom's hair. He even made the comment that he'd rather have our hair than Dad's."

In the time that passed Himawari's hair hadn't grown a bit. It had stayed the same length since Hidan had cut it, an inch or two above her shoulders. She had fretted about it's length because of Boruto. She even put a sunflower in it to try to distract him from it once he saw it.

Before they knew it they made it to the gate and the devil himself was waiting for them. Boruto was sitting in front of the gate and appeared to be waiting on them for a while. Once he caught sight of his little sister, he jumped off the ground, ran to her, and twirled her around in a big hug.

"I missed you, Hima!" He confessed happily before putting her down. After observing her for a moment Boruto commented, "If I had known you'd look so beautiful with your hair like that, I would have agreed with you cutting it a long time ago!"

Himawari blushed as Shikadai went back to her side to hold her hand. On the way to the Uzumaki's house, the three talked about only small things and Boruto didn't ask about their kidnapping, which they were relieved about.

Soon enough they were at the house, and once they were inside they were blasted with confetti. Once it no longer obscured their view, Himawari noticed that not only were both of her parents there, but so was both of Shikadai's.

"What's going on?" Himawari asked as she took out the sunflower in her hair to brush out the tiny flecks of paper.

As if to answer her question, Temari stepped forward and handed her a paper. Himawari hesitantly read it before becoming extremely excited. "You registered me for the Chunin Exams!" she stated more than questioned. "Thank you!"

"The best part is the five Kage have agreed to allow individuals to compete," Temari explained, "meaning you don't need a team to enter. You have Shikadai to thank for that-"

"There's no need," he insisted as he hugged his girlfriend from behind. He kissed her cheek affectionately. "It's the least I can do since you woke me from my coma."

Himawari blushed from the attention she was getting from her boyfriend. However, that didn't stop her from leaning into his touch and placing her hands on top of his that were on her waist.

At that moment Naruto and Shikamaru had to leave to go back to the office. As soon as they were gone, Boruto told his little sister the next part of the surprise. "Since Dad's not here anymore I can tell you we are going to the bath house with our, well technically my, friends to celebrate."

"But," Hinata interjected, "the boys will have to be in a separate room. We don't need your father-"

"I get it," Himawari agreed before her mother could finish, but then a thought occurred to her. "Wait," she turned her head to look at her boyfriend, "will you be able to go with your back the way it is? It's not exactly healed all the way."

"I'll be fine."

* * *

"Son of a bitch!"

Boruto laughed at his friend's exclamation when he went into the water. "I thought you said you would be fine."

"I only said that so she wouldn't worry," Shikadai admitted with a cringe as he waited for the pain to subside. "I didn't think the water would be so hot!"

"You're the son of two intelligent strategists." Mitsuki stated from the other side of the bath. "When are you not thinking?"

"When I'm around my Hima," the Nara almost immediately replied as he slowly went deeper into the bath to where the water was at his neck. "So for the past month, I've only thought when she left the room or when I had a meeting with the council."

"Your Hima?" Inojin repeated incredulously. "Since when has she been yours?"

"Since we started dating back in the fall," Shikadai commented offhandedly as he closed his eyes to relax. "Then I woke from my coma because of her and we've been inseparable since then."

Inojin fumed from his side of the bath but Boruto ignored his child-like behavior when his phone ranged on the floor beside him. He check the message that was left and sighed sadly. "Metal Lee's not coming anymore," he announced in annoyance. "His mission is taking longer than expected and he thinks he'll be done long after we leave."

"We can do something with him when he gets back then," Shikadai insisted, "like go to that old barbecue restaurant downtown that my dad almost always went to when he was our age. I'll pay-"

"You don't need to do that," Boruto argued. "We all can chip in and I'll pay Hima's portion too-."

"It's fine." Pausing for a yawn, he continued, "I have too much money anyways since I've become Kazekage-"

"So that's what you've been doing this whole time you've been away?" Inojin interrogated hotly. "Bragging about how much money you're getting since you've become a Kage? Trying to impress everyone in Suna by it to get them to like you because you are the youngest Kazekage they had?"

Shikadai opened his eyes to glare at his old teammate. Moving to where he was sitting on the edge, he began his monologue, "First off, how dare you accuse me of doing such things. The first time I ever mentioned the money I get was thirty seconds ago. Second, I don't even try to impress my villagers. I greet everyone I see when I walk through the village during the day and night out of kindness and they greet me back in the same manner. Thirdly, I am _not_ their youngest Kazekage. Uncle Gaara got inducted when he was fourteen because there was no one else for the job."

Shikadai stood up and placed his wet hair in a pony tail. "I wasn't going to say anything to you, but Hima already knows that you have a thing for her. She told me she doesn't have the same feelings for you and doesn't know how to tell you, but I guess I just did."

He turned his back toward him and three guys gasped while he walked to the exit. There was long scars all along his back, which was pink from the water, and it appeared as though they weren't even closed all the way; like they were stitched together so they wouldn't bleed.

He stopped at the exit with his hand on the wall. "By the way," he began without turning his head back, " _this_ is what I have to show from me protecting _my_ village and _my_ Himawari. What do you have?" Shikadai left without another word to change into his clothes.

Later on that day, Inojin didn't join them at the restaurant.

* * *

 ** _Done! Next chapter is the Chunin Exams, but I'm probably going to do only the third part though. It might not be uploaded tomorrow because I have a family event._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading._**

 ** _Please review!_**


	23. Chapter 23

**_Here is the next chapter!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

Himawari was leaning against the railing of the arena, getting both ready and excited for her match that would start at any minute. As soon as the female Genin from Kirigakure was taken down by another female Genin from Iwagakure, Himawari's name was called along with a male from Suna that was about her age.

When the two faced each other and were a few yards apart, the male, said, "Before we begin I want to thank you for saving our Kaze-"

"I didn't do anything," was her automatic reply. "I just noticed something was wrong and went to see what it was-"

"But if you hadn't had check, then Suna would still be under that jutsu and our Kazekage would most likely be dead," he insisted. "I thank you for that, but that doesn't mean I will go easy on you." With a puff of smoke a puppet appeared and, by the way the chakra threads were situated by his hands, he appeared to not be very skilled with it.

Himawari thought for a moment. "Since you're going to fight with a puppet, I guess I'll be fair and use one of my own." With another puff, a giant bird puppet with the insignia of the Hyuga curse mark on it's forehead appeared.

Rock Lee momentarily paused the match to make sure that Himawari didn't use any unauthorized tools to summon the puppet. Once he found nothing incriminating, the match continued and Himawari summoned a clone that wore a cloak to cover himself so no one knew who he was. "Keep an eye on the battle and help me when needed," Himawari ordered the clone.

The clone bowed and said in his usually slow tone, "As you wish, my princess."

The two shinobis fought, Himawari having to use both of her hands to control her enormous puppet. She did manage to cut the strings of the opponent's puppet but now they were having a tug-oh-war with Himawari's. Since Himawari had little to no experience with puppetry, she was struggling really bad.

"Would this be a good time for me to step in?" The clone asked innocently, though he acted like he was trying not to laugh.

Himawari sighed in annoyance. "I should have summoned you when you were older."

"But you wouldn't have as much fun," the clone teased.

"And you wouldn't be flirting with me like you are right now."

The clone shrugged at the comeback and took the chakra threads from Himawari. Very carefully he started to move his hands away from each other which forced the opponent do the same. About a minute later the puppet separated into two different ones, the Mother and Father puppets that Sasori adored.

Once again Rock Lee paused the fight but the boys kept there stances. From the pavilion, where the Kages were watching, yelled Kankuro, "Just continue on with the match! I gave her those puppets a while back as a gift."

The match continued and Himawari won after the clone tore the puppets away from the other and held their blades to his throat.

* * *

In the second round Himawari had to face one of her bullies that graduated the year she was supposed to. When the match began, she ignored the bully's remarks. Instead she activated her mother's famous jutsu, Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists, and charged at him. After he dodged the first couple attacks, the bully boasted, "We could do this all day and you would never land a hit on me!"

Himawari smirked during her onslaught. "Are you sure about that?" She swung her fist toward his stomach and he back away to avoid the hit. However, he didn't anticipate that when she opened her hand there would a Rasengan in it, which hit him square in the gut. With the force from the hit, he was slammed against the wall leaving an enormous crater in it.

The match was over and Himawari was deemed the winner. Himawari placed her hand on her hips in a sassy manner and warned, "Don't mess with an Uzumaki! Especially one that's going to be the Ninth Hokage!"

Himawari started to walk away but stopped when the bully yelled, "How are you going to become Hokage? You couldn't even save yourself when you got kidnapped by those criminals! All you did was watch as they beat the life out of someone you care about and begged for them to stop."

Himawari started hyperventilating after a couple seconds and placed her hands over her ears as she shook her head wildly, repeating "No!" over and over again. The people in the stands watched and wondered what was going on. Barely a minute passed by when the ex-Akatsuki member Hidan appeared out of no where and knelt in front of her. He ignored the viewers' comments while he tried to calm her down with reassuring words. When she tilted her head up to look at him, Hidan noticed that her eyes turned red with the pupils being slitted and the whiskers on her cheeks growing a little bit.

"Shikadai!" Hidan yelled at the new Kazekage. "Get your ass down here and calm her down."

A second later Shikadai was right beside her. In the next moment he twirled her around and kissed her with everyone in the stadium watching.

* * *

The final round finally came around and Himawari was forced to face a shinobi from Kumogakure. The first thing the shinobi did was insult Himawari on her strength.

Himawari sighed. "You know what? I'm getting tired of being called weak. To prove I'm not, I'll win this match with only one jutsu."

"Impossible," the opponent spat at her.

With a smirk that could compete with her brother's, she moved her hands into a well known sign. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The whole arena was filled with smoke. Once it disappeared and the Cloud shinobi could see again, he paled.

"These people," she began while gesturing to her clones, "are all of those who have fought in the Fourth Great Ninja War. If Madara Uchiha didn't have a chance against them when they all stood together as one, what chance do you have?"

The shinobi forfeited and Himawari was named winner of the third part of the exams, officially titling her as a Chunin.

* * *

 ** _Sorry, I lied. I was able to get it done today. The next chapter will be the last chapter of the story. I won't start it until tomorrow though._**

 ** _Good? Bad? Could be better?_**

 ** _Please let me know and thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Please review!_**


	24. The End

**_I would like to thank everyone that has read this story from beginning to end. This last chapter is dedicated to you._**

 ** _If you want, I will do a little one-shot of what happened with Hidan and Mirai at the criminals' hideout._**

 ** _I hope you enjoy the ending of The Story of Himawari Uzumaki and Shikadai Nara._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

A few years have passed since Himawari became a Chunin; she even managed to become a Jounin. Her hair hadn't grown much since then, it was barely passed her shoulders. Anyways about a week after she turned eighteen, Shikadai had asked her to come to Suna for a little date. The date turned out to be what their first date was in that village; stargazing on the roof of the Kazekage's mansion surrounded by sunflowers and desert roses.

Himawari sighed contently as she adjusted herself closer to her love. "I can't believe how much time has passed since we first started dating," she confessed happily.

"About four years," Shikadai agreed, "which is the same amount of time I've been Kazekage."

Himawari turned her head so she could at her beloved boyfriend's face. "And you have done a wonderful job," she acknowledged with a light kiss to his lips.

Shikadai abruptly pulled away and forced the two of them to their feet from their laying positions. "I've got to do it now." He got down on one knee and pulled out a beautiful ring to which Himawari gasped at the sight at of it.

"Himawari Uzumaki," he began confidently, "would you do me the wonderful honor of being by my side forever as my wife?"

Unable to speak, she nodded her head uncontrollably as she kissed her now fiance out of joy.

* * *

It took only three months for the wedding to be planned due to them wanting only a small simple wedding with just friends and family. With that fact in mind there was only thirty to forty people who'd be attending the event. The wedding would be held in Konoha. They'd agreed it would be best to have it there since they would be living in Suna. During the planning, Naruto joked around about how him and Gaara would be brothers now.

The wedding ended on a somewhat happy note. Everyone was surprised when Mirai brought Hidan to the wedding as her date. Inojin had been invited but he didn't show.

A few weeks after the wedding Himawari became pregnant. During her pregnancy, they would go to Konoha every couple weeks for a visit until she was no longer able to travel the distance. The married couple already agreed on a name for their baby, regardless of what gender he or she would be. Soon enough the baby was born and the couple decided that during the next Kage in Konoha, they would bring their baby girl.

A meeting did take place about three months after the girl was born. The meeting was to introduce the Kage to the new Hokage, Sarada Uchiha. The couple arrived at Konoha a couple hours before the meeting to introduce the baby to her grandfathers. They walked into the office to find only Naruto and Shikamaru; Sarada had left the office an hour before because her father was visiting.

Anyways, the first thing the pair of males did was swarm over to the baby, who was wrapped in a fluffy green blanket. Himawari moved it away from her head to reveal the little girl's big beautiful eyes and dark black like her father. She didn't have her mother's whiskers, which Himawari was very glad about.

Shikamaru was the first to hold the little girl. After rocking her in his arms for a couple minutes, he asked, "What did you decide to name her anyways? I don't think you've told me."

Himawari smiled at her husband. Shikadai answered, "We named her after her great-grandfather that died in the war, Shikaku."

Shikamaru looked down at the little girl while she began laughing happily, not wanting him to stop holding her. He kissed her forehead affectionately, which made her laugh even more. "I love it."

* * *

Five years passed by and Shikaku was now five. She had also gained a little brother, who was three, named Neji after their mother's uncle. Neji had unnaturally long brown hair and eyes like his father. Everyone that sees him makes a comment that he will become a genius just like the person he was named after.

One day their mother had been named Hokage like her friend had promised but that caused a problem with the siblings. That night they had to chose which village they'd wanted to be at during the day. That village would also be where they would have to go to school at. Shikaku predictably chose to stay in the same village as her daddy, since she is a daddy's girl. Neji chose Konoha because he wanted to stay with his mother.

The family lived a wonderful life with each other. They never fought with each other. They lived happily with one another until the siblings were old enough to live.

Through everything, Shikadai still loved Himawari as he did the first day he saw her.

She never stopped being his Byakugan Princess, even after her death.


End file.
